The Hunters
by Jawf94
Summary: AU. What if Beth had survived the fall, and escaped the mines without Hannah? One year later, Beth has repressed her tragic memories, suffering from severe amnesia. This is a story about Beth's psychological journey as she tries to cope with her loss, uncover the truth behind her sister's mysterious disappearance. and survive the onslaught of a fanatic group of cannibals.
1. Prologue

Prologue

The green jeep strolls along the forest trail, two forest rangers making their rounds. It's been one whole month since the Washington girls disappeared, and not the forest rangers or the police could find even a trace of either of them. Finally, after a month, the search had been called off, and police finally stopped searching the area.

"At least we finally have some quiet. No more cops snooping the area," one of the rangers says.

"Doesn't really make me feel better," the other replies. "I can't believe we never found those girls, not even any bodies. Just nothing."

"Yeah, it's like they vanished. We covered every inch of this mountain, we must've."

"Those poor girls."

"They probably fell in some fucking cave somewhere. I can't even imagine it."

The driver's eyes go to the tree line, "These woods are dense for sure, but you figure we'd see something with all the helicopters and dogs and-."

Something bursts from the trees, stumbling into the trail right ahead of the jeep.

"Watch out!"

"Oh shit!" The driver slams on the brakes.

The figure falls over as the jeep nearly crashes into it.

"What the fuck was that?!" The two jump out of the jeep, coming to the front. Their eyes go to the figure on the ground. A young woman wearing tattered clothes, even in one glance the two could tell she's malnourished and dehydrated. Brown, unwashed and unkempt hair covers her dirty face. She looks at the two, shaking and scared.

"Holy shit. . ."

"Is this who I think it is?"

"Can't be. No fucking way."

The woman tries to speak, but her throat's so parched, she can barely get out the words. "Please. . ." she coughs, "Water."

One of the rangers runs back to the jeep, grabbing a bottle from inside. He hurries back, rushing to her side. He holds it up to her mouth, letting her take all she wants. The woman takes a long drink, before turning and coughing some of it up, having taken too much at once. Her throat feels refreshed, she can breathe without choking. She can speak, though weakly.

"Miss, what's your name? Who are you?" the man asks, looking for confirmation.

The woman, still disoriented, doesn't answer at first. She breathes heavily, still coughing a bit from swallowing too much water. "Beth. . . Washington," she finally says, panting.

"Holy shit it is her," the other man gapes, unbelieving.

"One of em' anyway, call it in! Now!"

The man dashes to the van, fumbling with the radio as he picks it up. "Hey, come in, if anyone's there, come in, this is an emergency, over!"

A voice comes quickly, "Yeah we're here, over, what the Hell has you so riled up? What is your emergency over?"

"We found one of them!"

"One of who?"

"The Washington girls! We found Beth!"

"Christ, does it look like it was foul play?"

"What? No, you don't get it, she's alive!"

"What? How the hell is she alive?!"

"I don't know, but she needs help now!"

"Jesus Christ, I'll send a helicopter right away, what are your coordinates?"

While his partner tells headquarters, the ranger does his best to comfort Beth as she takes another drink of water. "The entire county has been turning over every rock in this damn forest trying to find you girl."

Beth says nothing, she just stares at him blankly.

"What happened? Is your sister around here?"

Beth looks at him, confused, "I- I don't know. I don't remember."

"What? Where'd you just come from?"

"I-I can't remember, I just woke up in the forest like this. I don't know what's happening," she says, still shaking.

"You don't remember anything? It's been a month!"

Beth shakes her head, "No. Wait, my sister's missing?"

"Jesus."

"Something wrong?" asks his partner.

"She's got amnesia. She has no idea what happened."

"Shit. . ."

"She's dead," Beth realizes, "My sister's dead. Oh god."

"You're gonna be ok," the ranger comforts Beth, "It's all over now. You're gonna be fine. You're sure you have no idea what happened?"  
"Stupid, stupid," she mumbles.

"What's that? What are you saying?"  
Her eyes narrow, clenching her fist in a sudden burst of anger. "Stupid. . . fucking prank."


	2. First Therapy Session

First Therapy Session

Dr. Hill stands by his window, hands behind his back. He hears the door opening and closing behind him, the door pull out, and someone sit down.

"Good morning Beth."

"Good morning Dr. Hill."

"How are you feeling today?" Dr. Hill asks her, turning around and walking towards the desk.

"Okay."

"Okay?" Dr. Hill takes his seat across the desk from Beth.

"Well, better than I was," Beth adds.

"That's good. Better is a start," he writes something down on his notepad.

"I never thought I'd be in here myself," Beth looks around. "My brother was always the one with the. . . problems."

"Yet here you are."  
"Here I am," Beth agrees, looking down.

"It's a been a month since they found you Beth. Everyone had given up by the time you finally showed up."

"I know, my family won't let me forget it. They were so happy when they found out I was alive. I mean, Hannah's still gone, but just me being there has made them so happy. Especially my brother."

"What do you mean Beth?"

"He must have said something about it to you. You're his therapist."

"I'm not allowed to disclose my sessions with other patients Beth."

"Oh, right," Beth remembers vaguely, "I'm sorry um, I'm still pretty. . .it's hard to just. . ."

"Bounce back?"

She goes silent.

"Of course, of course, I understand you must be going through a lot," he replies, writing down notes again.

Beth can't tell what he's writing down, she knows she's way out of it. She hopes he can help, from what she's seen he's helped her brother in the past.

"She wasn't just my sister you know?"

"No?"

"She was my twin sister. I've known her since birth, we were inseparable. She was my best friend for a long time."

"You mean she stopped being your best friend?"

"Well, High School happened, Sam came along, and things started to change."

"Who's Sam?"

"My sister's best friend. Well, she used to be."

"What happened?"

"What do you mean what happened?"

"Why isn't she best friends with Hannah anymore?"

Beth looks at him for a moment, as if she doesn't understand the question. "Because Hannah's dead. Why the fuck do you think?" Beth says, turning hostile.

"Whoa, I'm sorry Beth," Dr. Hill apologizes, a bit shocked by her cursing. "I didn't know that's what you meant."

Beth just stares at him now, until Dr. Hill speaks again.

"We don't know she's dead you know," Dr. Hill tries to comfort her.

"She's dead." Beth says coldly. "I know she's dead."

"I thought you couldn't remember anything."

"I can't, but I know. I know she's dead. If it's a miracle I'm alive one month later, what do you

think her chances are in two? No, she's dead. Don't try to treat me like a fucking kid."

"I'm sorry Beth, I didn't mean to offend. So, what happened between you two during High

School?" He asks, trying to get back on track.

Beth doesn't answer at first, but she breathes deeply, "I uh. . ." she starts, trying to find the words. "I started getting a lot closer to Josh."

"Your brother?"

"Yes, my brother."

"How did you get close?"

"We just did. I was always expected to be with Hannah though. We were best friends, but I feel like we may have only been best friends because we were supposed to be, you know?"

"What do you mean Beth?"

"As we got older, I guess we both realized that we didn't have as much in common as we used to, and how different we really were. I'm uh, I'm not sure how to put it," Beth stumbles.

"Take your time."

"I. . . started going hunting with my Dad and Josh. I think that's when it started."

"You like hunting?" He writes that down.

"I tried to drag her along once, but she hated it. She hated everything about it. Especially the guns."

"Do you like guns?"

Beth manages a smile, "I love shooting guns. Just the feeling you get when you fire one, it's such a rush you know?"

"I've never fired a gun."

"Really? Not once? It's fun."

He writes that down. "You know for a lot of people shooting guns relieves stress."

"I know, I've been going to the range a lot with my brother recently. He won't leave me alone."

"And has it made you feel any better?"

"Kinda, I don't know," Beth sighs, "At the time it feels better, but then I feel like shit as soon as it's over."

"You sound tired."  
"I can't sleep."

"Oh, why didn't you say that before?"

"Because I'm tired."

He jots that down too, and looks back up.

"Why can't you sleep Beth? Are you having nightmares?  
"I can't stop seeing her face," she breathes, starting to shake.

"Whose face?"

"Who do you think?"

"Hannah's?"

"Yeah. . .I have to keep the lights on when I sleep. When I'm in the dark I feel like she's right there." Hill's writing all this down, every bit of it. "I see her everywhere I go. She just. . . stares at me."

"You're having hallucinations?" He asks while writing. "What does Hannah look like when you see her?"

"Bloody, blank stare. Dead."

"How often do you see Hannah?"

Beth doesn't answer.

Dr. Hill looks up from his notepad to see Beth staring to the right of him. "Beth?"

Still no answer. She just sits there, staring off into nothing.

Dr. Hill looks to his side, nothing's there, not that he expected there to be anything. He looks back to her. She's still frozen. That's a thousand-yard stare if he's ever seen one. He writes it down, "This is worse than I expected."

He raises his arms and smashes his hands together, making a loud clap. "Beth!"

Beth shakes as she snaps out of her trance, "What?" she asks, totally lost.

"You were just in a catatonic state."

"A what?"

"You mind checked out," he says simply. "For at least ten seconds."

"Oh. . . yeah, that's been happening."

"Beth, what were you staring at?"

Beth looks to him now, she opens her mouth, then closes it, not saying anything. Her eyes are wide. Hill can tell she's starting to shake again.

"Did you see Hannah?"

"I always see her."

"Where is Hannah now?" Hill asks, trying to keep her with him.

"She's. . . in front of me."

"What's she doing?"

Beth doesn't answer.

"Beth," Hill tries to keep her attention. "Can you hear me?"

"She's sitting in your seat," she gets out.

Dr. Hill flinches. He puts his pencil down, "I'm Hannah?"

Beth nods weakly. She clutches her head, her vision blurring. She spirals, suddenly everything's spinning. Hannah's everywhere. That dead, blank stare, everywhere she looks. Closing her eyes doesn't help, Hannah's face is burned into her retinas.

"Leave me alone, leave me alone!" she chants to herself, shaking her head. "Please please please stop! I didn't do anything!"

Dr. Hill rises from his chair and to Beth's side, taking hold of her by the shoulders. "Beth!"

Beth's head snaps up to see him, she's panting, sweating. Dr. Hill realizes what he may have just done. "Am I still Hannah?"

"No." Beth looks around the room, seeing nothing. "She's gone."

Dr. Hill takes a step back, taking a deep breath himself. "I think. . . I think that's enough for today." Dr. Hill sits back down, "Just try to relax while I get the rest of this down."

Beth sits quietly as Dr. Hill writes down everything he's witnessed. She feels like she's about to pass out. She's exhausted, but her mind won't let her sleep. Beth can only imagine what he's saying about her. She knows she's losing her mind, she only hopes she'll make it through.

"Okay, now," he starts writing something else on another piece of paper. When he's done he rips it off the notepad and hands it over to her, "This is a list of recommended medication."

Beth takes a glance, "Long list."

"Yes, it is. Your doctor will have to give you a prescription. Just show it to your parents."

"Okay," she replies weakly. "It's uh. . . never been that bad before. Sorry."

"You don't need to apologize. Reactions are good, it means we're making progress. Now, I suggest getting the sleeping pills immediately, I think your hallucinations are largely due to lack of sleep."

"Thank you Dr. Hill," Beth turns to leave.

"Just call me Alan, something tells me we're going to be seeing each other a lot."

"Am I supposed to feel better? Cause I feel worse."

"It always gets worse before it gets better, but it will get better Beth. Just be strong." Dr. Hill watches as she leaves the room without another word. He takes a breath. He looks to the clock, it's only been ten minutes. It feels like he had been talking to her for hours. He looks over what he's written down about her, going down the list.

Severe depression.

Hostile outbursts.

Insomnia.

Catatonic.

Suffering from crippling hallucinations.

PTSD.

May be bipolar.

Signs of schizophrenia.

He opens his drawer, taking out a bottle of whiskey and a glass. He pours himself some and downs it in one go. He leans back in his chair, trying to relax himself.

"God, I hope I can help this girl."

 **Author's Note: We're gonna be skipping around in time here, the next chapter will be the start of the second party, but this is not the last we'll see of the therapy sessions. I hope you enjoyed this, it was a trip writing it.**


	3. Here We Are Again

Here We Are Again

Sam sits on the bus, on her way to the annual party at the Washington's lodge. It's been a long ride, and Sam has been listening to the radio, when a story she knows all too well comes on the news, one she's sick of hearing.

"Today marks the one year anniversary of the dreadful tragedy that took place on Mount Washington. Sherriff Annie Cline who was in charge of the investigation. . ." the broadcast skips, cutting out the end of the host's sentence.

The sheriff's voice comes on now, "Thanks for having me Marty." Sam can feel the somberness in the sheriff's voice. She had been tasked with finding the twins, and she failed. Even though Beth had turned up alive, Hannah had never been found, alive or dead.

"To all listeners, an update on Hannah Washington, who is still missing."

The sheriff continues, "One year ago today the Washington girls left the safety of their parents lodge and headed out into a snowstorm."

"Foul play?" asks the host.

"Not officially, no. There is one individual we're considering as a person of interest, but his whereabouts are currently unknown. He has an interesting history with the Washington family. He had warned them against pursuing a construction project, and claimed the land was sacred to his forefathers."

"You know there's still the old sanatorium on the mountain, could he be hiding there?"

"My officers did search the grounds, but the girls themselves couldn't have made it that far."

"Something about that mountain seems to breed tragic events."

"We were hoping to get some information on what happened when one of the sisters, Beth, was found alive by forest rangers a month later. Unfortunately she's suffering from amnesia, and still can't remember a thing about that night, or the entire month she was missing."

"We were all overjoyed to learn of Beth's survival of course," the host adds.

"It was a miracle," the sheriff agrees, her voice lighting up a bit. "Her chances of being alive after a month, in those mountains under those conditions? They were...well, nothing, honestly. I can't even imagine what it was like for her."

"She was very lucky."

"I don't think lucky is the right word."

"Of course," the radio host agrees, "We are aware of Beth's severe mental trauma from the experience, and we wish her the best of luck. Sheriff, what do you think it would take for someone to be able to block out an entire month of their life?"

"Something very, very traumatic. We renewed the investigation for a while, hoping if one sister was alive, maybe we'd find the other, but we still came up with nothing. Not even a corpse." the sheriff sighs, not enjoying having to remember all this. The signal goes quiet for a bit, and Sam is about to turn it off, thinking she's lost the signal, when Annie's voice comes back. "If any of Washington girl's friends or family are listening to this, I want to issue an apology, to all of you. I'm sorry we couldn't give you closure. The miraculous survival of Beth had nothing to do with us, by the time the rangers found her, we had already given up. After she was found, there was so much hope, we needed to find Hannah then, but we didn't...Beth, I'm sorry we couldn't find your sister."

The radio host was quiet for a moment. "Well, thank you for joining us Annie, that was very emotional. Our hearts go out to all the Washingtons tonight, to their children Beth and Josh, and to all their friends, on this, the anniversary of the mysterious disappearance of Hannah Washington."

Sam turns the radio off, after hearing that, she doesn't need to hear any other stupid news stories. She sighs, her mind already on Hannah. Sam was Hannah's best friend, but none of them had felt the blow more than Beth. She still can't believe Beth and Josh invited them up here again, after what happened last year. She digs out her phone, replaying the video that had been sent to her.

The video flashes on, showing the two remaining siblings, Josh and Beth.

"Well hello friends and fans," they both try to say at once, but it ends up sounding out of sync.

They both look at each other, "Aw what happened?" Josh asks.

"Sorry, I thought we were starting sooner."

"Whatever, let's try it again," Josh comes closer to the camera, refocusing it. "Take two!" He jokes, taking his place beside Beth. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Beth nods.

"Well hello friends and fans!" they say together, getting it right this time.

Sam chuckles, it's nice to see them in such a light tone for once.

"It is beyond awesome to have you guys all back this year. First off, I gotta say we're super excited to welcome all our pals back to the annual Blackwood winter getaway." He raises his arms, imitating a chant from a cheering crowd.

"I think we should address the uh. . . well you know," Beth mumbles to Josh.

"Oh, yeah of course," Josh nods.

Sam's smile drops, she knows what's coming. Beth takes the center view.

"So, I know that you're all probably really worried about me. I know that I've been pretty messed up for a while, and I really appreciate all of your concern. I . . . don't really wanna talk about this more than I have to, so, I just wanna say I'm seriously looking forward to this. Let's all try to just have some fun and try to get on with our lives, for the sake of my sister and. . . yeah."

"Okay," Josh bails her out of the awkward pause, "Let's not dwell too much on it."

"Yeah, you're right," nods Beth.

"Alright guys, sorry to end on such a sad tune, but we're gonna have a lot of fun tonight! So we'll see you there!"

The video cuts out. Sam lowers her phone, looking out the window at the approaching Mount Washington. Just knowing Hannah's still up there somewhere makes her shudder.

"Well, it can't be any worse than last year."

 **This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I decided to split it up into two parts because I wanted to get at least something out today. It's a bit short, but this also means the next one is already part way done.**


	4. Something's Not Right

Something's Not Right

The bus drops Sam off at some lonely station at the base of the mountain, she'd have to walk the rest of the way to the cable cars. She feels so strange, coming back here after all this time. So much has happened, and even when Beth turned up alive, it was weeks before she said anything to any of them. After all that misery, Sam had never wanted to see this place again, yet here she was. The party's in honor of Hannah, she couldn't say no to that, what kind of friend would she be?

As she's walking she swears she hears another pair of footsteps behind her, but turns to see nothing. She stands there staring for a moment.

"Hello? Is someone there?" she calls out. No answer. "I swear to God if this is some stupid prank. . ." she warns, backing up.

Still no response. Sam turns to start walking forward again, hoping none of her friends will try to scare her, but given her friends' past pranks, she doesn't rate her chances particularly high. Maybe it's just a wild animal, but as she thinks about it, she realizes a bear or wolf is much more troubling than her friends playing a stupid joke on her. She decides to speed up, not wanting to stay and find out which one it is. An old gate comes into her view now, rusted and worn. Coming up to it, she finds a note attached to the bars.

 _Gate's broken, climb over._

"Are you freakin' kidding me?" she sighs, looking at how high it is. She grabs onto the stone wall, making her way over. "I can't believe I have to climb over a fucking wall. Doesn't anyone look after this place?" She mumbles to herself, irritated. She jumps down from the top, planting her feet firmly in the snow as she lands on the other side. Then she hears rustling again. She rises up, looking all around her. Still nothing. This is starting to make her nervous, but luckily the cable car station isn't far ahead. Hopefully someone else would be there so she could talk to someone besides herself and the trees. She comes over the hill, laying eyes upon the even lonelier looking cable car station. There's no one in sight.

"Great. . ."

She can see the mountain in its entirety now. She looks up at the snowy white top, so high it towers above the circling clouds. A fog surrounds the mountain, rising up to shroud the view in a thick, concealing gray. Somewhere up on this massive mountaintop, in some godforsaken cave or at the bottom of a creek, or maybe just lost in the endless woods, is Hannah. It would be beautiful if it wasn't so creepy.

"Why the hell did we come back here?" Something feels wrong, in fact, everything feels wrong. She wants to just turn around and walk away, get on that bus and never look back, but she knew she couldn't do that. She notices a backpack lying on the bench inside the station. Maybe someone is here. That's not all she notices. She passes a sign, it's been vandalized, written over.

"Wow, graffiti all the way up here?" she reads the message that had been left for her, painted in red, all capital letters.

 _THE PAST IS BEYOND OUR CONTROL_

"Yeah that's. . . weird," she admits, more nervous than before. "Just some dick trying to creep people out after Hannah disappeared. Still, it's weird."

She turns away, heading towards the backpack. She really hopes someone's there, she doesn't want to be alone in this haunted place anymore. She didn't recognize the backpack, but no one else is up here. It has to belong to one of her friends. She spots a cellphone leaning out.

"What do we have here?" she takes the phone. "Shouldn't leave these things lying around," she chuckles, turning it on. There's one new message, from Josh. That at least proves the bag belongs to one of them, but she still doesn't know who. Then she feels a hand touch her shoulder. She whips around, startled, to see the smiling face of Beth.

"Hey nosey," she looks pleased with herself.

"Beth!" she smiles, relieved. "You shouldn't scare people like that."

"And you shouldn't be snooping through people's stuff."

"I was just uh, wondering whose bag this was," Sam starts, trying to explain herself. "And I saw your phone and I thought, maybe I could figure it out."

"Interesting. Can I have my phone back now?"

Sam makes a face. "When'd you get so sarcastic?" she asks, letting Beth take the phone.

"The doctor said I needed a sense of humor," she grins. She walks over to her bag, putting her phone back in its place.

"It's good to see you Beth, really," Sam says honestly. As much as she hates getting scared, it's nice to see Beth joking around.

"You too Sam, I'm glad you could make it."

"Yeah, well I gotta say, it's kinda weird being back here," Sam admits.

"Yeah, I know. It's weird for me too."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to remind you," Sam apologizes, wishing she hadn't said anything.

"It's okay, I get it. It's hard not to think about." Beth sits down on the bench. "I know you were her best friend, and I really wish I could tell you what happened to her."

"We don't have to talk about this." Bringing this up was a bad move.

"It's all just a blank," Beth goes on. "Everything until almost getting hit by that ranger jeep, and then waking up at the hospital with Josh."

"He was really messed up until you showed up, you helped him a lot. You probably saved his life," Sam comforts her, sitting down next to Beth.

"I didn't do anything, except run out into a snowstorm like a moron, disappear for a month, and put my family through Hell."

"Beth, you can't do this to yourself. Hannah's gone, and there's nothing we can do about that. We don't know what happened to her, but I know she wouldn't want to see you like this. You didn't go through a year of Hell to sit on a bench and feel sorry for yourself!" Sam gets up, holding out her hand. "We came up here to get on with our lives, so that's what we're gonna do, not cry and. . . and wish things could've been different!" Now Sam's gotten herself motivated, she didn't even want to do this a minute ago.

Beth looks up to Sam, managing a smile. "You didn't have to say all that. . . but thanks. Really."

"Just take my hand, I'm starting to feel really stupid here."

Beth chuckles, taking Sam's hand, rising from the bench. They stand there in silence for a moment. Sam really didn't have anything to follow up on that speech. That was pretty much all she had. Luckily, the silence doesn't last, and the cable car comes into view.

Sam breathes in, relieved. "Looks like our ride's here."

"Yeah, let's get going," Beth grabs her bag and they head towards the arriving cable car. "Uh, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm, uh, . . .I'm really glad you're my friend."

"Let's just try to have some fun," Sam smiles back.

They get on the cable car, and soon they're on their way up to the lodge.

"Hey, by the way, was that you following me earlier?" Sam asks as they sit down.

"What? No, I've been here," Beth replies, making a confused face.

"Huh, I guess I'm just being paranoid," Sam laughs it off. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

As they ascend, their eyes are ahead on the mountaintop before them, not on the figure that steps out from behind the cable car station, watching them the whole way.


	5. Emily Learns a Lesson

Emily Learns a Lesson

After a bit of trouble with the frozen lock on the front door, the group of nine has finally made it inside the Washington lodge. They're all getting settled, unpacking, looking around after not being here for a year. It's nice at first, quiet, comfy, but as with all nice things, it's only a matter of time before someone comes and spoils it.

Emily and Jess are arguing, again. They had been best friends once, but ever since Jess hooked up with Mike, Emily's ex-boyfriend, things got petty and vindictive in no time at all. They still managed to stay friends, but there was always this bitterness in the air, and often enough, they'd scream at each other, make up, just to do it again some other time. But their fights get worse and worse, their insults grow more awful every time. Sooner or later one of them is going to go too far.

Beth watches the two girls go at each other, irritated by them both. She still hasn't really forgiven either of them for the part they played in the prank against Hannah, even though she's tried. People are so much harder to forgive when they don't hurt you, but the people you care about. Beth would only be able to truly forgive them if Hannah did, but that can never happen. Hannah's gone, she can never forgive them, and that makes it so much harder for Beth.

Matt comes into the argument now, backing up his girlfriend. "Jessica, you need to shut your mouth, okay?"

"No, you're the one who needs to keep your nose out of other people's business!"

"I'm about to get right up in your business you bitch," Emily lashes.

"Are we about to get real? Cause I am down to get real!" Jess clashes, not backing down.

"Enough!" Beth yells, not in the mood for their nonsense. Everyone looks to her. "Would you both just shut up?! Can't we go one minute without your petty crap? This is not what Josh and I wanted when we invited you all back up here. This is not what my sister would have wanted."

"Oh, who cares about what Hannah wants?" Emily sneers.

Beth flinches at that.

"Whoa, Emily," Matt grabs her shoulder, knowing she's about to go way too far.

"No," Emily breaks from his grasp. She's going to say what she has to say. "Hannah wanted to get with my boyfriend. She knew he was taken, and she wanted to get with him anyway. She was about to stab me in the back, and she was perfectly okay with it! So when she didn't get her way she started crying like a baby, and ran into the woods, alone, like a moron! I mean, what the hell was she thinking? Maybe if your sister wasn't so stupid she'd still be here!"

At first Beth just stares at Emily, but then she starts to shake. Clenching her fists as her eyes tear up, her face a twisted mess of anguish and pain. "You really don't care do you? You don't care that your stupid little prank got my sister killed! She's dead! She's dead! Because of you! You fucking bitch!" Beth screams, suddenly charging at Emily.

Josh catches her, restraining his grief-stricken sister. She struggles as she sobs, trying to break free, wanting nothing more than to rip out Emily's throat. "Beth, come on! She's not worth it!" Josh tries to calm her down, but Beth's not listening. She refuses to let up, spitting threats and curses.

"I'll fucking kill you! What gives you the right?! After everything you've done?! It's all your fault! All of you! YOU KILLED MY SISTER!"

Finally, Beth gives up, out of breath. Josh lets her go. Beth glares at Emily with an air so intense, Emily can feel her hate, a thick venom emanating Beth as she seethes. Beth didn't want to yell, but Emily pushed her, she went too far. Emily nervously steps back, trembling. Beth is silent now, but she won't stop looking at Emily. Beth stands there, staring daggers.

"Beth, you're scaring me. Calm down."

Beth turns, storming up the stairs. Her room is at the top, she can't stand to look at anyone right now. Before she goes in, she turns back to Emily, who's still shaking in her thousand dollar boots.

 _"_ I fucking hate you."

She throws open the door and slams it shut, locking herself inside. For a good moment everyone's silent. No one knows what to say after a moment like that. Before it had just been an annoying little fight between two old rivals, and they thought it might go horribly wrong, and it did, just not in the way they thought it would. Living up to form, Emily is the first one to speak.

"Jesus Christ Josh," Emily says, still panicked. "Your sister's a fucking psycho!"

"She wouldn't have gone so nuts if you hadn't talked shit about my sister. You got a lotta nerve Em, especially on tonight, of all freaking nights!" Josh reminds her, tonight being the anniversary of Hannah's disappearance.

"There's no excuse for that! She was threatening me! She would have hurt me if you didn't stop her!"

Josh ignores her, he's too busy wondering if Beth's okay. Sam, on the other hand, is mad. She walks up to Emily from the side, her eyes flaring. Emily doesn't notice her until it's too late. Emily turns to look at her, and Sam punches her square in the face.

Emily cries, doubling back. She clutches her nose, now gushing with blood. Everyone winces. Matt's suddenly on his toes, getting between Sam and his girlfriend.

"What the hell, Sam?!" Matt demands.

"She had that coming and you know it!"

Sam tries to get by; Matt pushes her back. He doesn't like the idea of hitting a girl, but if Sam tries to take another swing at Emily, he won't think twice.  
"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Sam screams at Emily. "Do you have any idea what she's been through?! Even the slightest fucking clue?! She was so messed up being back here, and I actually managed to cheer up! She was happy! She was actually happy! You ruined it! Why do you always have to ruin everything?!" Sam points up to Beth's room. "She's probably in there crying her eyes out right now! What kind of friend makes her friend cry?"

"You didn't have to hit her!" yells Matt.

"Someone had to! If you weren't in my way, I'd hit her again!"

Emily falls to her knees, "I think you broke my nose!" she cries through the blood.

"Fuck your nose!" Sam screams back. "I hope the blood stains your little rich girl top!"

"Jesus Christ, Sam, chill out. It's over," says Mike.

"It's not 'over', you meat-headed prick!"

"Whoa, don't you insult him! He didn't do anything!" Jess rises, Mike puts up his hand.

"It's okay Jess, she's just mad."

"I think you should sit down, Sam," Chris comes up to her.

Sam's still mad, but Chris is right, acting this way won't help anything. She takes a deep breath, and walks away. She stands next to Josh. She's still too fired up to sit down.

Matt goes over to Emily, "Come on, let's get you some towels or something."

"Oh god. . . my nose!" she whimpers, grabbing onto Matt.

"There' a bathroom down the hall around the corner, second door on the right," Josh tells Matt. "There's plenty of toilet paper and paper towels."

Matt nods, escorting his girlfriend down the hall. Ashley shakes her head, her mind still on Beth.

"Guys, that was, I mean, wow, that was really really bad. Like, full on meltdown," Ashley says, visibly worried.

"Yeah, none of that was pretty," adds Chris. He turns to Josh, "Think she'll be ok? That was super intense."

"She needs some time to calm down. She's done this before."

"It's never been that bad," Jess remarks, "That was messed up."

Josh looks back up to the door Beth went in, "I'll go check on her."

"Maybe one of us should come with you, in case she goes off again," Mike suggests.

"I think it'd be best if I did this alone, actually," Josh heads up the stairs. He knocks gently on Beth's door, "Hey sis, it's me. Can you let me in?"

There's no answer at first. He waits. After a moment, the door clicks, the door slowly opening. They get a glimpse of Beth's face, and it's not pretty. Her tears have melted away her makeup. Beth makes sure he's alone, and then lets her brother in. Josh steps in, and Beth closes the door hard, locking it again.

"So. . . should we call 911 for Emily?" Chris asks. "I mean, if her nose is broken. . ."

"Her nose isn't broken, I didn't hit her that hard," Sam remarks. "She's just a 'crybaby.'"

* * *

Beth sits down on her bed after closing the door. "What do you want to talk to me about?"

"You had everyone really scared about you Beth."

"I don't care. They don't give a shit about me."

"Beth, you know that's not true," Josh says, sitting down next to her.

"You think Emily cares? After what she said?"

"I think she cares. She's just. . . high strung."

"That's one way of putting it."

"You know, Sam hit Emily pretty hard for saying that."

Beth looks to Josh, "Really? She hit her?"

"Oh yeah, really hard. Her nose was gushing blood like a fountain, it was everywhere."

Beth smiles at the thought. "Now I wish I stayed to see it."

Josh chuckles, but soon Beth goes silent again. "So, what? Are you gonna stay up here the rest of the weekend?"

"I don't know. I wanted to forgive them, I really did. But now, I don't know Josh."

"It's been a year Beth. I mean, I was really pissed at them too, but I got past it. You have to too. They didn't mean for that to happen."

Beth looks at Josh now, "If I had never come back, would you still have forgiven them?"

"Beth, don't think like that."

"Would you?"

Josh is silent for a moment, then sighs. "I don't know," he says honestly. "But you did come back. I mean, when you both vanished, a month of my life was totally fucked, like, you have no idea."

"I've got a pretty good idea, Josh. That was me. For a year." She clutches her head, lying down on the bed. "I can't do this. I can't take this anymore."

She's silent for a while. Josh isn't sure what to say. He wants to say something to help her, but what can he do?

"I don't think I'm meant to be alive," she says finally. "I feel like I should have died with her."

"Stop," Josh says, rising up. "Don't ever say that again. You being here. . . it's the only reason I'm here," he admits.

"Josh. . ."

"It's true. You think I would've made it a year if you died too? No way. There's no way."

"I know!" Beth yells, jumping from the bed. She gets right up in Josh's face, "It got so much easier for you! Because I'm alive! But it's not easier for me! Hannah died, I didn't. Why? Why me? What makes me so fucking special?!" she fumes, wanting an answer. Josh can't give her one, and she knows that. "Ever since I got back, everyone's like 'Oh, Beth everyone's so happy you're okay! You're so lucky to be alive!' Well I don't feel very fucking lucky, and I'm not okay! They all look to me like I'm some gift from God! Because why? Because I didn't die! Because my sister's dead, and I'm not! I didn't do anything! I didn't save you Josh! I almost killed you! Don't you get that?!" she yells at her brother, crying. Josh just lets her go, letting her get everything out.

"If I didn't come back you'd have killed yourself? Is that it?! Is that supposed to make me feel better?! It doesn't! I fucked up! I did something stupid, I almost died, my sister _did_ die, and I vanished for a month! I put you through Hell worrying about me Josh, because of my stupid mistake! Then I turn up alive, and suddenly I'm supposed to believe I'm a fucking hero?! That I 'saved' you?! No! It's my fault! It's fucked up! IT'S FUCKED UP!" Beth collapses back on the bed, sobbing furiously.

"What do you want me to say Beth?" asks Josh seriously. "You want me to blame you? You want me to get mad at you? You want me to yell at you? For almost dying? Is that you want?"

Beth doesn't know what to say to that. She just looks down, sniffling.

"Because I'm not doing that. That's bullshit. You know that's bullshit Beth, and you know it's not your fault. You know what? Even it was your fault, I wouldn't care. You're my sister Beth, I'm just happy you're alive."

Beth is silent for a moment, she's stopped sobbing. She breathes in, and then out.

"Thanks."

"For what?" Josh asks, confused.

"For that. Letting me say all that."

"You feel better?"

"A little."

"I think you should get some sleep. After everything just now, I mean, I'm exhausted just watching you."

Beth smiles, "Yeah," she bends over the bed, searching through her bag. She fishes out her sleeping pills.

"You gonna be okay in here?"

"Yeah, I guess. Just don't let me sleep through the whole night."

Josh nods, going to the door. "I'll come back in a few hours."

Then he leaves. Beth swallows some pills, and lays down. She turns on side, trying to get some rest. She does feel better, like at least some of the weight has come off her shoulders. It should be easy enough to fall asleep, she feels absolutely drained after all her crying and yelling, she just hopes she doesn't have one of her nightmares


	6. Another Therapy Session

Another Therapy Session

Beth has lost track of how many sessions she's had with Dr. Hill. At this point, she's seeing him more often than her brother.

"Good morning Beth," Alan greets as she walks in.

"Good morning Dr. Hill, oh," Beth catches herself. "I know you wanted me to call you Alan, but I always forget."

"Whatever's most comfortable for you," he shrugs.

She nods, "Alright."

Beth takes her seat. Alan takes his across from her. He studies her for a quick moment before saying anything. She's certainly looking much better than when they started their sessions. She doesn't look tired or out of it, her hair is being taken care of, and her skin had some color to it. One would say she looks normal, but he knows they've still got a ways to go.

"So, Beth, it's been a while," Dr. Hill begins, crossing his legs.

"Yeah, it has."

"How was the vacation?"

"It was good, kinda weird, but mostly fun."

"Why weird?"

"I don't know, it's just. . . France."

"France is weird?"

"I guess, I mean, not in a bad way, but yeah, it was weird."

Dr. Hill just laughs, "I think it's weird too."

Beth smiles.

"So, how have you been?" asks Dr. Hill, picking up his pen.

"Good, mostly."

"Still having nightmares?"

"Sometimes, yeah, not as often though."

"When was the last time?"

"Uh," Beth thinks, "Before the vacation, like, a month ago, maybe?" She guesstimates. "Something like that."

Dr. Hill writes that down.

"That's good, and the hallucinations?"

"I haven't really had any in a while, I mean, I still think about her all the time, and that. . . that face I used to see all the time, you know, the-."

"You don't have to describe it."

"Right. I um, I don't actually really see it anymore, but it's always popping in my mind, especially when I'm trying to sleep."

"Does it bother you?"

Beth squints slightly, "Of course it bothers me."

"Right, sorry. Just asking."

He writes that down.

"So, you still think about her a lot?"

"Yeah, like all the time, but, I mean, I don't think, like, I'll ever not think of her, and I want to, kinda, just not in that way. . ." she trails off, troubled for words.

"You don't want to forget her."

"Yeah, I mean, how could I?"

"But the thoughts don't comfort you, they bother you?"

"Well yeah. I mean now they do, but they won't always, at least I hope not," Beth looks down.

"It has only been seven months."

"It feels longer," says Beth.

"Some people never get over a loss that heavy. The fact that you have come this far in half a year is very good, you've shown a lot of improvement in a short amount of time."

"Yeah," Beth nods.

"Have your friends been helping you at all?" Alan changes the subject.

"Yeah, but, well, mostly Sam and my brother. Chris makes me laugh a lot."

"No one else?"

"I haven't really said that much to the rest I guess. It's just, like, I don't know what to say. I mean we have talked, but. . . I don't know."

"Are you still mad at them?"

Beth doesn't reply. She looks away. She wants to say no.

"Seems like it," Alan says, noticing her silence.

"I'm not. . . 'mad,' I was, like a lot. But now I'm just, um," Beth stumbles. "It's hard to just forget about it all, I guess."

"You're still mad."

He writes that down.

Beth doesn't say anything, she stares at Hill. She's irritated at him now, for not believing her, but mostly because he's right.

"I don't want to be, I want to just. . . forgive them, and move on, and be done with it all. I do. I know that it wasn't really their fault what happened."

"But you can't let it go."

Beth breathes in, "She won't let me."

"Who?"

"Hannah."

Dr. Hill stares, a bit confused. "What do you mean 'she won't let you'?"

Beth looks visibly uncomfortable, "Every time I think about it, and that I just want to let it go, I think of her, and how sad she was, how badly they humiliated her, and I just, I-I can't. . ."

"You're getting angry."

Beth stops. Her heart is racing, her fists are clenched, she wants to yell.

"I guess I am," she restrains herself.

"You can yell, let it out. It's fine."

Beth doesn't say anything. She doesn't want to be mad.

"The more you hold it in the worse it'll be."

"I can't. I just. . . I just can't."

"It'll come. I just hope it'll be here."

"I don't want to!" Beth says, "I hate feeling mad. I don't want to yell at them, I don't want to be mad at them. They're still my friends."

"But you are mad at them Beth," Hill points out. "Even if you don't want to be, you are. Anger isn't always voluntary."

Beth's whole body feels tight, tensing up. She feels tears welling up in her eyes. She's mad. She hates it.

"How do I make it stop?" she needs to know, she can't stand this feeling.

"You have to let it go."

"How?!"

"Yell, shout, scream. It doesn't need to be at them, but honestly, it might be better for you if it was."

"No! I don't like yelling!"

"You're yelling now."

"STOP IT!" Beth's hands to go her head. She's sweating. She leans back in the chair, taking deep breaths.

Dr. Hill is silent, he just watches Beth try to calm herself down. He knows she's going to snap, have a meltdown. It's coming, even if she doesn't want it, she can't stop it. He can try to nudge, even push her into it, but he can't force her into it. Beth has to do it on her own, and she's being stubborn.

Beth leans forward on the desk, her head in her hands.

"I don't want to talk anymore," she says weakly.

Dr. Hill sighs. Close, but not quite.

"Alright Beth, okay."

Beth's still breathing hard.

"I'm sorry," she says, wiping her face with her sleeve.

"Don't be sorry. You're not the one who should be sorry."

Beth gets up, grabbing her bag.

"This was good Beth, we learned a lot today," says Dr. Hill.

Beth goes to the door. She doesn't even want to say goodbye, in fear it'll be used against her.

"Beth."

She looks at him.

"Think about what I said. Let it out, everyone in your situation has to, and people who don't end up losing their minds."

"Goodbye Dr. Hill."

"Goodbye Beth."

Beth leaves. She tries to just close the door but she still feels like she slammed it.

Dr. Hill looks at his watch. Fifteen minutes. He sighs.

"Still feels too long."


	7. Reunion

**Author's Note: Honestly, I didn't think I was coming back to this story, seeing as I got distracted from this and lost interest in the game. However, I got a surge of inspiration, and I decided this story just had too much potential to pass up. I really like what I've done with Beth's story and her character, and I'd hate to see it go to waste. I just hope my original audience is still interested.**

Reunion

Beth stirs in the night, finally awaking from her slumber. The sleeping pills had certainly done their work, Beth had fallen asleep shortly after Josh had left her room. Only problem is, Josh was supposed to get her up before it got too late. Instead, she finds herself waking up alone. She can already tell by the way she feels that she has slept more than she wanted. And it's quiet. Way too quiet. She expects to hear her friends' voices, maybe some loud music playing, even some footsteps, but there is nothing. She goes for her phone, checking the time.

1:33 a.m.

Not that long, but didn't Josh say he would wake her up? Maybe he lost track of time. She rises from the bed, making her way to the door, still pretty groggy. She was so upset and distracted before she had fallen asleep with her shoes still on. She stops just short of the door, a fear suddenly grabbing her. What will she say to her friends after her all that? She can't just go back down and act like nothing happened, can she? Are they mad at her? Beth shakes her head.

"Fuck it, I can't keep being afraid." Beth says to herself, taking a deep breath. She doesn't have to explain herself, they know she's troubled. Hopefully, they'll all just understand, and they won't have to speak about it ever again. She reaches for the doorknob, opening it, to find nothing.

No one.

The cabin is dark, quiet, and empty. And she is alone.

"H-hello?" Beth calls out, hoping someone will answer, but she hears nothing, only the sound of the cold wind crashing against the lodge.

She starts down the stairs, slowly. The stairs are creaking faintly, she's never noticed that before. It's never been this quiet.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" she calls out. Still no answer. "Josh? Sam? Emily?"

She can't believe she just called for Emily. At this point though, she'll settle for seeing anyone. Almost anyone.

She comes to the bottom of the stairs, walking into the center of the room. "Guys? Guys? You guys?! Come on! Hello?!" she screams, begging for a response. She had developed a fear of the dark, because that's where Hannah usually was. Now that Hannah is gone, the fear has faded, but not totally. She's still alone in a dark, empty lodge, miles away from any civilization, with no explanation of where anyone has gone. The whole thing is unnerving enough to creep anyone out. She feels the darkness surrounding her, the silence screaming at her.

"Guys! This isn't funny! Is this some kinda fucking prank?!" They wouldn't do this to her, would they? After Hannah they wouldn't prank her too. They aren't that cruel, right? If they are, she'll seriously have to start thinking about branching out. "Okay, okay," she takes deep breaths, trying to calm down. "Maybe they just split up. Maybe there's still someone here. Somewhere."

Suddenly, a light flashes on, shining through the doorway in front of her. Someone had turned on the screen in the home theater. The doors are wide open, inviting her inside.

"Alright, this has prank written all over it now," Beth squints, turning from scared to annoyed. "They're trying to freak me out even more. I can't fucking believe it." She won't believe Josh or Sam have a part in this, there's no way.

With not much of a choice, she heads into the theater to see what's planned for her. She's already figured out the joke. Frankly, it was a pretty ridiculous idea to start with. She's upset, not stupid.

"Alright guys, come on this isn't funny," she says loud enough for anyone inside the theater to hear her.

When she walks in, what she sees playing at first on screen is about what she expected to see. Dead bodies, images of human disasters, disgusting bugs, things of that nature. Anything that would freak her out to strengthen the prank. She doesn't know where they got this footage, but who knows how long they were planning this. After last year's prank, she doesn't think there's any limit to how far they will go. None of the things playing on the screen bothered her in the least, especially not bugs, but she was a girl, so maybe her stupid friends figured she was grossed out by them, like her sister. She had been hunting with her father and her brother over a dozen times, she had seen more big bugs than any of them put together. She isn't so easily frightened, even in her state. She begins to wonder who's in on this. Not Sam. Definitely not Josh. Probably the same assholes who pranked her sister last year. At first she wanted to forgive her friends, but if this is how they're going to continue their relationship, even after what the last prank did to Hannah, maybe she just has shitty friends.

"Yeah, ok, this is dumb," she sighs, actually smiling a bit at the stupidity of this, but the smile instantly disappears when she realizes how mad she is at them. "Do I look five years old to you assholes?! Guys, seriously! STOP! If you really think this is funny, then I don't wanna be friends with you anymore! I mean it! You guys are jerks! Emily, if you're in on this, I swear to God, you're fucking dead! First you talk shit about my sister, and now you pull this shit?! Fuck you Emily! If you don't quit this now, we're over! You think Jess hates your guts? You, have, no, idea!" she screams as loud as she can. She doesn't really hate Emily. She certainly wants to, and at this point she's certainly on her way, but Beth isn't a hateful person by nature. She just wants them to stop and start taking her issues seriously, like Josh, or Sam.

She figures they're all hiding out of sight, but she's screaming to no one. No one's in the theater, that is, except one person. Someone sitting in the front row she hasn't noticed yet. Now, something else appears on the screen. Something specifically chosen to cause a mental train wreck in Beth's head.

On the screen is Hannah. A young Hannah. And a young Beth, playing together. Beth stops her screaming, already feeling her heart twisting and turning. A slightly older Josh stood off to the side, standing by his mother. Her dad was holding the camera. This was an old home movie from years and years ago. Her family kept countless copies of those old things up here, but they never got watched, they just sat in a room encased in layers of ancient dust. Had those assholes raided her family archives? She vaguely remembers the day this was filmed, but she's never seen the end result. After Hannah vanished, she certainly doesn't want to see it now, if ever. She stares, transfixed at the sight before her, blindly stepping forward into the theater. They were just running around the yard like stupid kids, playing tag or something. They can't have been anymore than nine in this recording. Josh was around eleven at the time, standing next to their mom, looking bored. He thought he was too cool to be playing with his little kid sisters at the time, even though they were less than two years apart. Not to mention, they were girls, Josh didn't want to play with girls at age eleven. That quickly changed though, at least for Beth. This video was reminding her not only of her friendship with Hannah, but how different they would eventually become. Hannah would go on to meet and become best friends with Sam, Beth started hanging around Josh, and eventually becoming closer to Josh than Hannah, but Hannah was still her sister. Her twin sister. They would have always been friends, they would have always had a certain connection no one else could ever understand. She was Beth's second half.

And now she's dead.

She shakes these thoughts from her head, trying to get a grasp on what's happening. Are her friends really behind this? Are they really this cruel? This is absolutely killing her. It's sadistic. She hangs her head, tears forming in her eyes. She just stands there, shaking, sobbing, seething. If her anger were a physical force, the entire room would be trembling so furiously, you'd think an earthquake had struck.

"STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW! I CAN'T TAKE THIS! TURN IT OFF!"

And just like that, the screen goes dark, and the room lights up. Beth flinches and shields her eyes from the sudden brightness. When the shock finally dims she spotts the figure sitting in the front row. They have long dark hair, and as far as she knows, there's only one person here who looks like that.

"Emily, you fucking jerk! What the hell is wrong with you?!" yells Beth, half in tears, storming up to the front row. The figure rises, stepping into the aisle. Beth freezes. It's not Emily. It's not any of her friends she came here with, at least not this year.

"Hey sis, you miss me? Just thought I'd keep myself occupied while I wait for you. Watch a few old videos. Reminisce," Hannah says smiling, as if nothing is wrong with any of this.

Beth stands motionless, as if she's been turned to stone. Her sister looks pretty pleased with her reaction.

"We really had you going, huh? Yeah, I guess I felt like playing a little prank of my own. Sorry, Emily's not here, aaaaaand I don't think we'll be seeing her anytime soon. Or ever again."


	8. The Butterfly Effect

**Alright guys, warning, this chapter is graphic and sad. It's also the longest one so far.**

The Butterfly Effect

Beth watched from the window as her sister fled into the snowstorm. Hannah was always sensitive, and Beth knew it didn't take much to get her upset. The way she ran out without even saying anything, without even a jacket, Beth knew something was wrong.

"Hannah?" Beth broke away from the window, running to get her brother, who was still passed out at the bar.

"Josh! Josh?" Beth said, pulling at her brother to try to get him up, but it was no use, Josh was slumped over, out cold. "Dammit Josh, shit!" Beth gave up, she knew there wasn't time to waste. Hannah wasn't used to being out in the woods by herself, she could get hurt, or lost. Beth bolted out of the room and out the front door of the cabin, where her friends the pranksters had gathered outside to see where Hannah had run off to.

"Hannah?" Sam yelled out, but she was long gone.

Beth pushed by Matt, who was standing in her way. "What's going on, where's my sister going?" she demanded, knowing something was wrong.

"Ugh, its fine, she just can't take a joke," said Jess, brushing it off.

"It was just a prank Han!" yelled Emily after Hannah, who was already far out of sight into the woods.

Beth stared out into the snowstorm, trying to find some trace of her sister, but it was no use. Visibility was next to nothing. Hannah had vanished into a sea of trees, surrounded by a white, dense cloud. Beth whipped around back to the others, clenching her fists. She could just about punch one of them.

"What did you guys do?!"

"We were just messing around Beth," said Mike, trying to calm her down, "It wasn't serious."

"You jerks!" Beth screamed, turning to run after her sister. "Hannah, Hannah!" she called out, running to the forest. Beth had been through these woods plenty of times when she was hunting with her brother and father, but Hannah? Hannah couldn't find her way through if her life depended on it, and in this snowstorm, that may have very well been the case. What was she thinking, running out here all alone? If Beth could just find Hannah, she could guide her sister out before she hurt herself.

"Beth, Beth!" came Sam's voice, running up to her.

"What do you want?" Beth narrowed her eyes, thinking she was in on whatever happened.

"I'm coming with you."

"I don't need your help Sam, you'll just slow me down," Beth said, turning away.

"I had nothing to do with that, I would never do that to Hannah. She's my best friend."

"Did you know about it?" Beth asked, turning her head back, her eyes gleaming.

Sam hesitated, holding her arm. "Well…"

Beth pushed Sam away, visibly upset. Sam stumbled, managing to catch herself before she fell into the snow. "Then you had something to do with it! You had a chance to stop it and you didn't! You know my sister can't take a joke! You know she's sensitive! Do you have any idea how dangerous this mountain is, how many cliffs and caves there are? Because Hannah sure doesn't, and now she's out there, all alone!"

"I'm sorry! I know it's partly my fault! I wanna help," Sam said. "I hike all the time, I can help you. I won't slow you down, I swear!"

Beth eyed her, "Fine, we don't have time to argue. Don't fall behind, I'm not going to wait up," Beth said, taking off further into the woods. Sam followed, wanting to make this right.

They ran for a while, following Hannah's footprints through the snow. The snowstorm was picking up, Beth could hardly see in front of her. They came to a fork in the path, Hannah's footprints led one way. Beth instantly took the other way.

"Hey, where are you going? Hannah went this way!" yelled Sam after her. Beth stopped briefly to turn back to her.

"These trails meet up! This way's shorter, if I go this way I can cut her off!" Beth yelled.

Sam trusted Beth, but she didn't want to take chances. "If I go this way, we can't miss her! I'll meet up with you!" Sam replied, following the footprints.

Beth nodded, it wasn't the worst idea. She went her way, trying to keep a fast pace without tripping over a stone or a tree root. Sure enough, she saw a shadow pass by in front of her. It had to be Hannah.

"Hannah! Hannah!" Beth yelled, picking up speed. The figure didn't stop, and kept running.

Beth came to the end of her trail and turned sharply, trying to catch up. She couldn't see Sam, she hoped she didn't end up getting lost. As she kept going, she heard crying. Beth followed the sound, eventually coming to a small opening in the woods. In the center, sat Hannah, on her knees.

"Hannah!"

Hannah turned, "Hello? Beth?"

Beth ran up to her, "Hannah! Oh my God you must be freezing," she said, unzipping her coat and putting it around her. "Here, take this."

"I'm such an idiot! I'm so dumb..."

Beth crouched down to comfort her sister, "It's ok, I'm here sis. Sam's on her way, I think." Then they heard shuffling behind them, something moving. "Ah, that must be her," Beth said, looking up with a smile. It soon dropped when she realized it was not Sam.

A large wolf emerged from the trees, snarling and baring its teeth. Beth knew that wolves hunted in packs, and sure enough, two more came into sight to join the leader.

"Oh shit...shit," Beth said. This was bad. This was really, really bad.

"Beth? What's wrong?" Hannah asked, turning her head. When she laid eyes on the vicious wolves, she acted naturally, but stupidly. She screamed. The wolves' ears' twitched, and they charged at the two sisters.

Beth grabbed her sister by the arm. "Run! RUN!" she yelled, pulling her.

"Oh god! Oh my god!" Hannah yelled, trying to keep up with Beth, if not her arm would be torn off by her sister. Beth was a lot stronger than she looked.

Wolves are faster than humans, and these ones were no exception. The girls wouldn't be able to get very far, and Beth knew that. This wasn't looking good.

"I'm so sorry Beth! We're gonna die and it's all my fault!" Hannah cried.

Beth didn't know what to say. Running out into the woods alone was stupid, but it was her friends who had put this whole thing into motion. "You're not gonna die Hannah, neither of us are! Just keep running, and don't let go!"

The two sisters came to a dead end. A cliff.

"Jesus Christ," Beth said, out of breath.

With nowhere to go, they turned to face the wolves, who were slowly advancing, covering all angles of escape.

"Oh god, oh god..." Hannah sobbed, backing up.

"No, Hannah don't!" Beth warned, seeing she was getting too close to the ledge, holding her back.

Then a gunshot rang out close by. The wolves shifted their heads to the sound. Two figures came running into view, one Beth recognized as Sam, the other she didn't know, but he had a gun. A hunter, she guessed. What luck, Sam had found help. The hunter fired into the air again, scattering the wolves.

"Oh thank Christ," Beth sighed, relieved.

Sam had really come through. After this, Beth would never get mad at people for hunting on Washington property again.

"Beth! Hannah!" Sam yelled, smiling to see them.

It all seemed like it'd be okay, but Hannah had wandered too close to the ledge. The weak ground gave out from underneath her, and she went over, taking Beth along for the ride.

"No!" came Sam's terrified voice. Both girls screamed as Beth tried to find something to hold onto, grasping onto a tree root sticking out of the cliff. Beth hung on for dear life, her sister dangling under her as Beth held onto her arm.

"Oh god, Hannah don't let go!" Beth cried.

"I-I can't hold on!"

Beth looked up to see the hunter come to the ledge, reaching his hand out. "Hey, come on!"

Beth couldn't take his hand, not while holding Hannah, but if she didn't try, soon her hand would slip, and they'd both fall. Beth didn't know what to do, she couldn't make a decision. She couldn't drop her sister, there's no way.

"Beth... just let me go," Hannah said weakly.

"What? No, No!" Beth shook her head. "I can't!"

"Beth, if you don't let go, we're both gonna die. This is all my fault, all of it. I'm not strong like you, I'm worthless. I just wanna die..."

"Hannah...no," Beth started, tearing up.

The root gave a bit, it wouldn't last much longer.

"Drop me! You shouldn't have to die because of me!"

Beth looked at her sister hopelessly. She was right, there was no way they would both make it out of this. Hannah was trying to save Beth. As pathetic as Hannah seemed, this was the bravest thing she could do. It was what she wanted. Beth closed her eyes, feeling her grip begin to loosen.

"Do it!"

"...I'm so sorry Hannah."

Beth let go of her sister's arm, letting her plummet. Hannah screamed as she disappeared into the white abyss. Beth felt like killing herself right then, but this was Hannah's decision. She wanted her sister to live. That's what Beth would have to tell herself. She lifted herself to try to grab the hunter's hand.

Then the root broke, and Beth fell down the same hole she had just dropped her sister. Beth had only seconds to try to brace herself. The only thing she could hope for was to break her fall with her shoulder. Beth slammed into a rock, if she was falling the wrong way it would have shattered her spine. She tumbled into a cavern, rolling fast. She managed to slow herself down enough to avoid flying off the ledge, she was still going to fall, but it wouldn't be as hard. Beth finally came to a stop, bruised and battered, but she was alive, and conscious. She moaned, trying to get to her feet. Only by pure, blind luck was her arm not broken when she hit the rock, although she was pretty sure she dislocated her shoulder. All things considered, she was going to have to consider this a good outcome.

Hannah wasn't so lucky. Beth heard crying and moaning to her side. She turned to see her sister lying a few feet away from her, sprawled on her back, her leg twisted in ways a human body should never go.

"Hannah! Hannah!" Beth stumbled over to her fallen sister.

"Beth...you're not supposed to be here. You were supposed to be safe," she said dismayed at the sight of her sister.

"The root broke Hannah, I never wanted to drop you. I can't believe you made me do that."

Hannah shifted her gaze to the ceiling, whimpering in pain. "I can't do anything right, I can't even save my sister. I'm such a fuckup!"

"Hannah, don't worry, help will come, but we gotta try to find a way out of here."

"I can't move Beth, I hurt my back, my leg is broken. My glasses broke, I'm fucked. Just leave me."

"No! No!" Beth yelled at her, "Don't make me do this again! I won't!" Beth grabbed onto her sister, dragging her while she moaned in agony. She managed to sit Hannah up against the wall.

"Oh god, shit!" Hannah screamed, her whole body in terrible pain. "I feel like I'm gonna die."

"You're not gonna die Hannah, you're hurt. You're hurt bad, but you're not gonna die." Beth took one look at her leg. She wasn't in any shape to move.

"Shit."

"I told you, I'm dead weight."

"Shut up Hannah! You have to be strong! We can get through this!"

"You can, you're strong. I'm weak, I'm pathetic," Hannah said, shaking her head. She had already given up.

"You're not weak Hannah, you tried to sacrifice yourself, for me. I was the weak one for letting you go! I'll regret that for the rest of my life. I swear, I won't ever abandon you again," Beth assured her, trying in any way to help Hannah. "Twins are supposed to look out for each other, always! I'm sorry I forgot that. It won't happen again."

"Beth, you're a great sister, but you're wasting your time," Hannah sighed. Nothing Beth could say could bring her out of this. Hannah was defeated.

"Hannah, you can't lose hope. I can't help you if you don't try."

Hannah remained silent. She had nothing more to say.

Beth rose to her feet, holding her throbbing arm. "I'm gonna go scout ahead, try and see if I can find a path or something."

"I'm not going anywhere." Hannah said, her voice drained of any life.

"Be strong Hannah, I'll be back soon," Beth started down the cave, hoping to find, well, anything.

She didn't have to go very far before she heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps. Someone was in there with them. Beth's face lit up.

"Hey! Is someone there! We're trapped down here! My sister's really hurt! Hello?!"

She listened, and the footsteps sped up. Whoever was done here, they had heard her. A great relief came over her. She didn't know who would be down here, maybe spelunkers? She didn't care. Help was help.

A figure turned the corner, coming into her view, half shrouded by the cave's darkness. Beth couldn't make out his features, but his clothes were odd, they looked like animal skins, and ragged pieces of cloth stitched together.

"Hey little lady, are you lost?" came his voice, approaching her.

This man immediately creeped Beth out, but she was in no position to be picky. He didn't look like a spelunker, he didn't have any gear, maybe he was a hermit living in the mountains? It weirded her out, but this man was their best shot.

"Me and my sister fell down here, do you know the way out?"

"Why yes, indeed I do."

"Well, that's great!" Beth smiled, "Can you help us?"

"Oh, I'll help you," the man said, coming closer.

Beth's smile immediately faded. "What are you doing?"

She saw the man pull something out from behind him, seeing the gleam of the knife against the light from a hole in the cave ceiling. The man took a swing at her, Beth managed to dodge out of the way, backing up.

"Hey! What's your problem asshole?!"

"Oh, you're a feisty one huh? That's alright, I'll take you bloody if you like. I like my meat rare."

"What the fuck..." Beth took a step back, horrified.

The man came at her again. Beth knew how to fight, she had taken some courses on self-defense. She had been taught how to disarm someone with a knife, but this guy looked like he knew what he was doing. She managed to dodge the first strike, but then he came up high with the knife descending down on her. She caught his arm, trying to hold him back, but this man was strong. The knife ended up going through her shoulder. Beth screamed in pain but kept pushing, fighting for her life.

The knife got stuck in Beth's arm, and she managed to push him back, sending him stumbling. The creep lost his balance, falling down a nearby ledge deeper into the cavern. Beth, not thinking, went to the ledge to look over. She saw him, climbing to his feet. Ahead of him, lights in the cave, coming closer.

"Hey! There's someone up there! Don't let her get away!" screamed her assailant at the approaching figures.

There were more of them. There was a whole group of these freaks. She didn't understand who they were or what was going on, but she needed to run. She grabbed hold of the knife in her arm, crying as she tried pull it out as fast as she could. Her arm was bleeding bad, but she had no time to worry about that. She kept the knife, trying to find her way back to Hannah.

Hannah was right where she left her, hunched up against the wall, motionless. "Hannah! Hannah!" Beth yelled as she ran to her. "Hannah, we need to leave, now. There's some crazy fuckers in this cave! I don't know what's going on, but one of them tried to kill me!"

"It just goes from bad to worse," Hannah said weakly.

"Come on, I have to move you!" Beth said, bending down.

Hannah cried in pain as Beth tried to lift her. It was no use, Hannah couldn't stand.

"Put me down! Put me down!"

Beth released her, letting her slump back against the wall.

"Fuck, shit, shit!" Beth cried.

"I'm done for Beth. I'm already dead, just go. They'll waste time killing me. You can get away."

"No! I won't leave you again!"

"There's no other way!" Hannah shouted, but even shouting proved to be too much for body to handle, coughing up blood.

Beth, once again, looked hopelessly at her crippled sister. There was nothing she could do. Hannah was broken mentally and physically.

"The bitch came from this way!" echoed the voice of the creep she had pushed.

"Shit! Fuck, they're coming! Oh god!" Beth paced back and forth, they didn't have much time.

"Beth, please, go. Before it's too late. If you stay, you'll die. I don't see wanna see my sister killed in front of me. Don't do that to me. Please..."

"Hannah, I, I..." Beth stood shaking her head, tears rolling down her face. "I can't do this again! Don't make me do this again!"

"You're not killing me Beth! I'm already dead!"

The footsteps were getting closer. Beth could see the light coming down the cavern. She took one more look at her sister.

"I'm so sorry Hannah, I couldn't save you..."

"No one could save me. You did your best." Beth bent down, giving Hannah the knife with her blood still on it. "It won't do me any good. You should keep it," said Hannah.

"Just take it. It's the only thing I can do for you!"

Beth hugged her sister, squeezing as hard as she could.

"Promise me you'll make it out of here Beth,"

Beth nodded, "I promise. I promise," Beth broke away from her sister now, backing away. She turned, seeing another passage go the other way. That was her best bet. "I love you big sister."

And then she turned to leave Hannah. She ran as fast as she could down the passage, tears dripping down onto the cave floor as well as her blood. The guilt she felt was damning. Twice she was forced to abandon her sister, twice she was forced to endure that pain. She just had to get far, far away.

A blood chilling scream stopped her in her tracks. She looked behind her, knowing they had found Hannah. She could hear sounds of a struggle, Hannah was trying at least, trying to buy her sister some time.

"I'm so sorry Hannah," Beth turned away to run again, the screaming never fading in her head as she descended deeper and deeper.


	9. Twin Traitors

**Well, this one's shorter than the last one, but honestly, I think it's just as messed up.**

Twin Traitors

Scrambled images of the past began to flow back into Beth's head as she laid eyes on her sister. The fall, the creep with the knife, the screams, the guilt of leaving her sister behind. Memories her mind had tried shut away forever, but now were coming back to the surface. She was remembering, little by little, but she didn't want to remember. This couldn't be real, could it? No, she was hallucinating again. She had to be, but this Hannah seemed so different from her other hallucinations. Hannah never talked to her before, she always looked pale, bloody and dead. This Hannah certainly didn't look dead, or for that matter, someone who's been missing for a year in the mountains. Besides being alive, she looked perfectly healthy and well clothed, although her clothes weren't anything Hannah would normally wear. They were rugged, and they look like they'd been handmade, stitched from animal skin and loose cloth. Her glasses were gone. Hannah didn't need glasses as badly as others, but her vision was never that great. Beth had the same problem, she just wore contacts. The way Hannah appeared to her, this was nothing like her hallucinations. So if it wasn't a hallucination, it had to be a dream, right? But then she thought, she was never able to tell she was dreaming before. Never. Lucid dreaming was just something that didn't happen to her. This dream felt too real, her other ones were psychotic, pained visions that were jumbled and never came out clear. Why was this dream so different?

The answer, of course, was because she's not dreaming. Beth was more awake than she had ever been.

Hannah advanced on her terrified sister. "No, No! Get away! Get out of my head! I thought I was done with this! I thought you were gone!" she wanted to run, but she might as well have be glued to the floor, because she wasn't going anywhere. The appearance of Hannah had quite literally scared her stiff.

Hannah stopped in front of her, amused. "This isn't in your head Beth. Although, I'm flattered you've been thinking about me," she said with a smile.

"Shut up! Get out! You're not real!"

Suddenly Hannah burst forward, hugging her sister. "It's so good to see you again," Hannah said, ignoring her sister's doubts.

Beth just stood there, arms at her sides, trembling, feeling the warmth of Hannah's embrace. No hallucination or dream could do this. Beth broke away, taking a long look at this figure claiming to be her sister. "H-hannah? Is it really you?"

"It really is Beth. It really is."

"You, you look so different. Everything about you is different," Beth said, unsure of what to even begin.

"I am different Beth. You don't have to look after me anymore, I'm strong now. Like you," Hannah said, smiling uncomfortably.

Beth didn't understand. "What do you mean you're strong now? Wait, wait a minute. Hold on," Beth said, remembering what happened after they fell. It wasn't something she liked remembering, not at all, but she had too many questions. "I remember those freaks found you. You screamed, I heard you. How are you alive? How did you escape?"

"Who said I escaped? They found me alright, but they didn't kill me, as you can see. They took mercy on me. They helped me."

Beth shook her head, "It didn't sound like they were helping you Hannah. It sounded like..." Beth couldn't finish her sentence, it was too disturbing to think about.

"Well, I didn't realize it at first, but, after they took me, they..they showed me how to be strong."

"Oh my god..." Beth backs away, horrified. "You, you're one of them?! What, what did you to our friends Hannah?!"

"Well, they said I could only choose to save one of you. The rest had to be part of the Hunt."

"The Hunt?! What the fuck! Hannah, you murdered our friends? Our brother? You killed Josh?!" Beth screamed, terrified at what her sister had become, because of her.

"Well, no. They're not dead yet. The Hunt hasn't started yet. We gave them a head start. You know, for sport. If I see Sam or Josh, I'll try to let them get away, but, I can't promise anything. They'll probably just die in the mountains anyway. They told me I could only save one, so, I chose you. You should be happy."

Beth couldn't believe any of this. Her sister was alive, but she had been totally brainwashed by what Beth could only assume were cannibals. The worst part was, Beth had left Hannah to those animals. She had let her sister become this. They took advantage of her disparity and weakness and formed her into their own twisted, psychotic image. She still had no idea who these people were, or what they were doing here, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about that. Her sister had lost her mind.

"So what? You just expect me to fucking leave? Let you murder everyone I care about?"

"Well, no, you can't leave. You can never leave. But, you can live. With us. With me."

"W-what?!" Beth was wrong. This was a nightmare. This was the worst nightmare out of all them. But this one was real. "You expect me to join your cannibalistic cult?! After they raped my sister?!"

"Beth!"

"They raped you didn't they?!" Beth came closer to Hannah. "I remember, the way that guy looked at me, he was..." she shuddered just thinking about it, wishing it stayed buried in her head. "He was gonna do more than just kill me...what have they done to you Hannah?!" Beth screamed, pushing her sister away. "This isn't you! You're not my sister!"

Hannah eyes flared as she charged back at Beth, "How could you say that?! After everything I've tried to do for you! What they did to me, made me stronger! They remade me. They'll remake you too."

Beth's face twisted at the thought. "No, No! I'd rather fucking die! I won't do this Hannah. I won't let you do this. You're delusional. You're insane! This isn't strength! They didn't make you strong Hannah! They raped you, and, and they fucking brainwashed you! You're a pawn!"

"No, no you're wrong!" Hannah yelled. "I'm more powerful now than I've ever been!"

Beth started to cry, convinced this was all her fault. "I'm so sorry I let this happen to you Hannah. This is worse than death. But I can't let you do this! This is fucked!" she screamed, stomping her foot down. "I won't let you kill our friends. I won't let you kill Josh! He's our brother Hannah! Do you have any idea how sad he was? What us disappearing did to him? He mourned you Hannah. He loved you!"

Hannah shook her head, "It doesn't matter."

"...Doesn't matter? Our brother doesn't matter?!" Beth surged forward, striking her sister across the face with her fist, enraged and heartbroken. Hannah took the punch, not cowering a bit. Her head spun, blood spurting from her mouth as Beth had struck her hard. "Fuck you he doesn't matter! He's everything to me! So is Sam! They helped me, they're the only reason I made it this far without you Hannah! The others, yeah they can be assholes sometimes, but they're our friends Hannah, and I love them...even Emily! I'm sorry for what they did to you, but it was never meant to hurt you like this. It's not their fault!"

Hannah turned back to Beth, wiping the blood from her face. "Fine, be that way, I'd hoped we could avoid this," she said, pulling out a knife.

Beth's eyes widened in fear, "Hannah, no! You don't have to do this!"

"Yes, I do," Hannah said. She raised the knife, and plunged it into her own shoulder. cringing in pain as she dug it far into her arm.

Beth squirmed in disgust and confusion as Hannah pulled the knife from her body, panting and bleeding.

"Here, take it," Hannah said, tossing the knife at Beth's feet. "I'll tell them you stabbed me, and got away. This will make it believable."

"You're twisted Hannah, you need help!"

Hannah said no more, passing by, walking to the exit of the home theater. Beth just watched her leave. She couldn't just pick up the knife and stab Hannah, she couldn't bring herself to. Hannah turned back when she reached the exit. She had a hurt look in her eye, as if Beth had been the one to betray her.

"I'll tell them you ran off into the woods. They won't check back here. I suggest you stay here until dawn, then make a run for the cable car when this is all over. That's your best bet. Someone's guarding it now, if you go there now, you'll be killed on the spot."

"You expect me to just walk away, and let you butcher everyone we love?" Beth asked her seriously, shaking her head in disbelief.

"It's either that, or you die with them. This is the third, and final time I'll try to save you. Now you're on your own. You realize this is the last time we'll see each other, right?"

"Hannah, if you do this. If you walk out that door, and do what you say you're gonna do, then...then...then you're not my sister anymore!" Beth cried out, tears rolling down her face.

Beth could tell Hannah wanted to cry, but she held it back. "Beth, that breaks my heart. But it's too late to stop this. This is who I am now," Hannah said, turning to leave. "Goodbye Beth, after today, you're prey. Just like anyone else." And then she walked away, leaving Beth alone in the theater.

"HANNAH!" Beth collapsed to her knees, then onto her back, sobbing uncontrollably. Consumed with grief and guilt, feeling like she had just lost her sister all over again.


	10. The Most Dangerous Game

**After a great deal of setup, we finally move on to the main event. For those of you who have been following this, even if you're not a reviewer (though I'd absolutely love if you became one), I want to thank you for sticking with this, and I hope you enjoy the following bloodbath.**

The Most Dangerous Game

For a while, Beth just laid on the floor, crying at the nightmare she had woken up too. Her friends were about to hunted for sport like animals, and her sister had been brainwashed into a murderous cannibal. Crying felt like the only thing she could do. She knew this was all her fault, but wasn't ready to just sit back and let it happen either.

She forced herself to her feet, sniveling as she made her way up to the exit of the theater. Beth couldn't just leave her friends and her brother to be slaughtered like sheep, she would never be able to live that guilt down. She'd wake up every day and feel like a failure. Every time she'd look in the mirror, she'd see a coward staring back at her. She knew that she had to help, even if it meant putting her own life in danger, or killing a few cannibals. By the time she made it to the stairs, she wasn't crying, she was fuming. She was mad. She wasn't even sure what she was mad at, if it was herself, her friends, or Hannah, but she tried her best to stay that way. It would have to be that anger that would keep her going through this.

She opened the door to her room, heading for the bed. She had spent a lot of time in this cabin in the past on hunting trips with her brother and father, but she had obviously never seen these freaks around before. That had to mean they hadn't been around for very long, certainly not as long as her. Not many knew this mountain better than her and her brother. Beth fell to her knees, reaching under her bed and pulling out a large, black case. She took a long, deep breath, undid the latches, and opened it. She just sat there, looking at the gun in front of her. A 12 gauge double barrel shotgun, this thing could be used for hunting both small and large game, and it would put a huge hole in anything it hit.

But could Beth really do this? Was she really about to go out there and hunt down human beings like in that short story she had read in high school? It always seemed like such a ridiculous concept to her. Intentionally trapping humans and hunting them for sport? It made for a good story, she thought, but she never imagined for a second it was within the realms of reality. Now, it was her reality. She had shot plenty of animals, but shooting a human being was hardly the same thing. She was just going to have to picture them as wild animals. By the way those freaks behaved, hopefully that wouldn't be so hard. She didn't have time to think about the idea of killing Hannah, there was no time at all. Who knows how long it would be until this "Hunt" started, or if it started already. Beth took the shotgun, but she was going to need more than this. Luckily, there was all types of hunting equipment in the lodge.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Beth was ready. She walked out of the lodge for what she hoped wouldn't be the last time. She had changed out of her purple coat and into more appropriate, camouflaged attire. It might have been her favorite color, but wearing a color like purple in the middle of the woods? She'd stick out like a day walker in a monastery. In addition to her shotgun, she had Josh's rifle slung over her back in hopes of running into him, along with a few other surprises. She started out into the dark woods; she would take the trail for a while but she knew staying on it would be a death sentence. The Hunters would be watching the trails for anyone dumb enough to walk on them, and she wasn't sure how experienced her friends were in mountain trekking, besides Josh, who she had been hunting many times, and Sam, who she remembered did plenty of hiking. But someone like Emily? A spoiled rich girl like that? She wouldn't last five seconds. Beth's family was rich too, obviously, they owned this mountain, she was richer than any of them, but Beth wasn't treated like a princess who got anything she wanted like it seemed Emily was. Emily may have been a bitch on more than one occasion, but she was still Beth's friend, and no one deserved to be hunted down like a wild dog. She had to save them. She had to make this right. She had to stop Hannah, no matter what. She wasn't sure if there was any trace left of her sister, but she seemed pretty mind fucked when Beth talked to her. Beth didn't want to face the reality that she might have to shoot and kill her sister, she just had to keep going, and not think about it. After about fifteen minutes of travel she hadn't run into anything or anyone, and she broke from the path. These mountains were vast, and she had no idea where to start. She didn't rate the chances of herself getting out of here alive very high, but she had to at least try. She was only nineteen, she wasn't ready to die yet, but she wasn't ready to let everyone she cared about die either.

The idea of doing this alone scared the shit out of her. She was using every ounce of her courage just to keep going forward. She didn't want to have to kill anyone, but she had the feeling she wouldn't have a choice. She just hoped she'd be able to pull the trigger when the time came. Beth wasn't in the best shape for this, she wasn't exactly in a sound state of mind, and the last thing she needed was for a panic attack or one of her violent episodes to strike. Then again, maybe this was the perfect time for a violent episode. She had packed her medication, she just had to hope it would keep her sane while she took on this monumentally insane task. Maybe that's why she was here, because only someone out of their mind would consider doing something as crazy as this. Beth tried to keep her mind clear, but all she could think about was how fucked up this all was. How could one stupid prank snowball into a mess of this magnitude? She was a nineteen year-old who had just graduated high school, and here she was, armed to the teeth and going out into the woods like she was Rambo or something, only this was way more fucked up than Rambo. What did she really think she was doing, wandering around the woods in the dark with a double barreled shotgun, trying to hunt psychopaths as if they were rabbits? Did she really think she could do this? She wasn't a soldier, although she had enough PTSD and flashbacks to know what a war hardened soldier felt like. She was going into the woods alone with no idea what to expect. Was it bravery? Not really, it was pathetic desperation, and not much else. Some futile, deluded attempt at control of this uncontrollable situation, but she was already here, there was no time to doubt herself now. She would just have to act louder than she felt. From what she could tell, these Hunters seemed to have low tech, Hannah and that other creep from a year ago had knives, and she imagined that they had other primitive hunting weapons, like spears and bows. At least she had the advantage there, when it came to killing power guns were far superior to sticks with points on them, but when she started firing, everyone would know where she was.

As she wandered, she found herself thinking about her Dad and Josh, and how reluctant they both were to start taking Beth with them when she showed interest in not so feminine activities, like hunting and hiking. Despite their initial doubts, Beth's most major enemy in being herself was not her father and her brother, as they weren't particularly against the idea, they just didn't think Beth could do it. Sexism comes in many forms, it's not always about hate or discrimination, and it doesn't always come from men. Beth's main obstacle was always her mother. She hated the idea of her daughter using guns and shooting animals. Beth's mother was always kind of traditional, and had the idea she would raise her daughters like she was raised, and Hannah seemed to be fine with that, but Beth certainly wasn't. Her mother still didn't approve of Beth's more "masculine" choice of hobbies, and hoped they were just a phase she would grow out of. She never did, of course.

Beth wasn't trying to prove anything, and she didn't reject every essence of her femininity like her mother seemed to think she was doing. She just had more flexible interests. Ever since, she always felt judging eyes coming from the direction of her mother, and while she still loved her, Beth and her mother's relationship never truly recovered from that "betrayal." Her father honestly didn't think Beth would be able to pull her weight and survive, to him she was his little girl who played dollhouse with Hannah. It wasn't just because she was a girl, it's because she was "girly." Beth had never been a tomboy, and she never tried to act like a guy, whatever that even meant. Beth was Beth, she wore make up and liked dresses, and for whatever reason, she liked guns. It wasn't something her father and brother understood at first, but she soon proved their expectations wrong.

She was trying to distract herself from this awful situation by remembering all these things, which was understandable, but also foolish. If she wanted to survive and save her friends, she would have to be one hundred percent alert, otherwise she'd be dead. If she kept going around like that, she probably wouldn't have lasted. Luckily, something came along that brought her attention back to the present, although, it wasn't a sight she'd consider herself lucky to see. In fact, she would give almost anything to unsee it. She came upon a human body, a rope snared around their ankle, hanging from a tree like a piece of meat, and that wasn't the only way they resembled a slaughtered cow. They had been skinned from head to toe, after their throat was cut. What was left was just a bloody carcass of muscle and tendons. When Beth figured out what she was looking at, she instantly became sick to her stomach. She turned, throwing up violently at the gruesome spectacle. She was shaking, her anxiety about to blow. She rummaged through her bag, desperately trying to find her medication in hopes they would calm her down. She hastily swallowed them, but she had a feeling she was trying to extinguish a forest fire by throwing a bucket of water. Nothing would be able to make her calm after seeing that.

It wasn't anyone she knew, far as she could tell, even though she imagined it would be hard to recognize someone who had been skinned. The clothing discarded nearby wasn't anything her friends would wear, a flannel jacket, an old cap among the items. Just some unlucky hunter or wanderer at the wrong place at the wrong time? She had no idea how long this had been here, but seeing as they were cannibals, and they hadn't eaten him yet, she figured it couldn't have been too long. She had to find her friends before they wound up like this poor soul. Her mind was definitely back on track. If there was any doubt that her life was in serious danger, that sickening sight quickly did away with all of it. She had to focus, or she would wind up the same way, or worse. That is, if anything could be worse than that, she wasn't sure.

Suddenly she heard the unmistakable sound of a woman's scream, and it was close. She whipped around to see one of her friends, Ashley, who had stumbled on to the same slaughter she had. Beth was smart enough not to scream, because she knew it would draw attention, but Ashley either didn't realize that or was far too panicked to care. Nevertheless, Beth's eyes widened in joy she had found someone she knew, and alive for that matter.

"Ashley!" she whispered harshly, hoping it would be loud enough.

Ashley then noticed Beth who was standing not far off. It was so dark and the skinned corpse had stunned her so much she hadn't even noticed her friend.

"Oh my god! Beth!" said Ashley as she rushed up to Beth, embracing her. Beth couldn't really hug back, seeing as she had a shotgun in her hands, but it was a moment of quick relief, one that wouldn't last. Beth pulled away after a few seconds.

"Ashley, you need to be quiet, we're being stalked."

"Oh god Beth! This is so fucked!"

"Shhhh!" Beth hissed, turning her head around to try to see any movement.

As far as she could tell, they were alone.

"How much do you know about what's happening?" Beth asked to the panicked Ashley.

Ashley held her head, trying to get a grip, "A little bit after you ran upstairs, some guys just burst into the lodge out of nowhere with spears and bows and shit, dressed like they were straight out of the Ice Age or something! They forced us outside, and told us we had been chosen to be this year's prey in their sacred hunt. They said we would get a head start, and if we could survive until dawn, then we were free. I thought it was some kind of fucking joke, but, now..." Ashley trailed off, staring at the hanging body.

"Don't look at it," Beth said, drawing her attention away.

"Oh god Beth! I don't wanna die! I wanna go home!" Ashley said, panicking.

"Ashley! You need to calm down, and you need to be quiet! We can get through this, but you have to stick with me."

Ashley was more scared than she had ever been, but she managed to nod. "Okay, okay...Uh, Beth? Why do you have guns?"

"Why do you think? To try to fight back."

"...Oh," Ashley said, too distraught to make sense of anything.

"I feel like I already know the answer to this, but have you ever shot a gun before?" Beth asked her trembling friend.

"Of course not, what kind of teenage girl shoots guns?" Ashley asked obliviously, but soon realized what she had said, "Oh, uh, I didn't mean..." she mumbled awkwardly.

Beth's eyes narrowed, "I'll take offense to that later. Have you seen any of the others?"

"No, no. I have no idea where anyone is, I don't even know where we are."

Beth sighed. Just like she thought, Ashley wasn't going to be much help. But at least she had found someone, maybe she had a chance at this after all.

"Ashley, there's something you should know about all this. You know how my sister disappeared here a year ago?" Beth started to explain, figuring they all deserved to know everything.

"Oh god, was she murdered by these freaks? Is that what happened to Hannah?"

"No, but I honestly wish she had instead of this," Beth said, shaking her head. "Ashley...Hannah is—"

Beth stopped talking suddenly when she heard the sound of flesh being torn through. She wasn't sure what happened, it was too fast for her to see.

"Beth...?" Blood trickled from Ashley's lips as she spoke, she hadn't even realized it herself. Beth's mouth fell open in horror when she saw the arrow sticking out of Ashley's chest. "Beth, I...I," Ashley trailed off, collapsing to the ground.

They had been found.

Another arrow whizzed by Beth's head as she whipped around, seeing something move in the nearby trees. With no idea what to do, Beth fired one shell at the swiftly moving enemy, and then the other, but she couldn't see much, she was just shooting at shadows. She didn't think she hit anything.

She turned back to Ashley, who was bleeding out fast on the ground.

"Ash!" Beth screamed, her worst horrors coming true. She dropped the empty shotgun and kneeled down, cradling Ashley's head. "Ash? Ash!"

Ashley's eyes met with Beth's, "Beth...it hurts. Oh god, it hurts!"

"Ashley, you, you need to stay awake!" Beth tried to help, feeling herself start to cry.

Ashley was bleeding all over the place, it didn't take a paramedic to figure out she wasn't going to make it. Beth didn't know what to say. Her friend was dying in front of her, and she couldn't do anything to stop it. She thought if she could find them, she could help them, but she had failed. The delusion that she could protect her friends was instantly shattered. Beth felt herself slipping away as hopelessness took over her mind, she would break down any second. She watched helplessly as the color drained from her friend's body, her cries of pain eventually falling silent. Beth wanted to say something, but she felt as if her voice had been stolen away. She just found herself watching, crying as Ashley died in her arms. She heard rustling behind them as someone emerged from the trees, but Beth didn't even bother to turn around.

Beth refused to move, staying near her dead friend as the figure approached them. She felt herself shaking uncontrollably, unable to tear herself away from Ashley's now lifeless eyes. This wasn't just grief. She had felt this before many times, a feeling she always hated and wanted to shut away, but it always managed to find a way through. Now it was stronger than it had ever been. Beth was boiling with rage as she heard the figure speak.

"You should have joined us when you had the chance," came a much more feminine voice than she expected, and it wasn't Hannah's. She turned to see her assailant, a Hunter, and a woman. Beth honestly figured they were all lustful, psychotic men after the advances the one in the caves a year ago had made on her, and what she knows they did to her sister. But here, standing in front of her, was not a hunter, but a huntress. The bow in her hand gave no illusion to who she was. She had killed Ashley. Beth wasn't sure if this woman was a rapist too, but she didn't intend to find out. "Now, you will die with the rest," the woman finished, revealing a knife from her coat. "Tell me," she said, a wide, twisted grin forming on her face. "What would you say to a little fun before you die?"

Beth stood up from Ashley's body, the tears in her eyes masking the look of unbridled hatred and disgust. Beth had been heartbroken too many times, she couldn't take it anymore. All that anger had to go somewhere, and this psycho was about to feel all of it. This huntress had killed Ashley, and by her sexual remarks to Beth just now, she had made it clear she had something to do with the rape of her sister, and now it seemed she wanted the other. Beth clenched her fists, her tears not slowing down a bit.

"You... psycho bitch!" Beth lashed, disturbed even more by the fact these threats were coming from a woman.

"You dare insult Artemis, Mistress of the Hunt? It'll just make your death much slower."

Beth just stared at her, disbelieving at what she had just said. "You, you think you're a goddess?! You're insane! You sick fuck!"

"I wouldn't expect a nonbeliever to understand, now I've grown tired of talking," she said, coming forward.

"You killed my friend...like she was nothing!"

The cannibal just smiled and laughed. "She _was_ nothing."

Beth's eyes narrowed now, a sharp gleam in her tear ridden eyes.

Beth's hand went into her coat, taking out a .357 revolver she had hidden away. She cocked it, pointing it straight at the cannibal huntress. The woman stepped back, visibly stunned. Beth stood there, trembling with anger, her finger on the trigger. All she had to do was pull.

The cannibal who called herself Artemis noticed Beth's hesitation, smiling once more. "Of course. You can't kill me," she said confidently, taking one step forward. "I'm chosen by the Gods."

Beth cursed through gritted teeth.

" _You monster..."_

Beth squeezed the trigger, firing her revolver with both hands. The woman stopped in her tracks as she felt the bullet tear a hole in her throat. Her eyes widened, stumbling back. She fell to one knee, blood spurting from her neck. Choking on her own blood, her fearful eyes met Beth's. The grief-stricken, psychologically damaged girl had been totally consumed by her violent episode.

"FUCK YOU! AND FUCK YOUR GODS!" Beth fired again, blowing out the back of the cannibal's skull. The woman's head jerked back violently, and then hung down, swaying limply before slumping face first into the snow.

Beth collapsed to her knees, breaking out in a howling, hysteric sob. Beth couldn't take it anymore, she was a mental trainwreck. Ashley was dead. She had failed.

"You fucking freak! You killed my friend!" she shrieked, putting another round in the woman's lifeless body.

This must have been how Hannah felt in that cave. Broken, powerless, and alone. Except Beth wasn't alone. Her cries had attracted attention. She heard footsteps coming towards her rapidly. Beth didn't even bother looking, she didn't care anymore. She just wanted to die. The figure dropped down and threw his arms around Beth.

"Thank God I found you little sister."

Beth's eyes shot open when she heard the voice. "Josh?"

Josh held his crying sister in his arms, "It's okay sis, you're gonna be okay."

Beth wasn't okay. She wasn't sure if she'd ever be okay, but at least she had found her brother. She was so happy to see him, but all she could do was cry.

"Ashley's...dead!" she said in-between sobs.

Josh squeezed his sister as hard as he could, trying not to look. "I know. I know."


	11. Bound By Blood

Bound By Blood

In a desperate situation like this, you learn to appreciate what you have, and for siblings Josh and Beth, all they had was each other. Ashley was dead, and they were next if they didn't start moving. However, Josh was having a hard time getting his sister on her feet. Beth had cried more times in the past twenty four hours than any person should have to.

"Beth, come on, we can't stay here," Josh said, forcibly lifting the sniveling Beth to her feet.

"Yeah, yeah," Beth agreed, wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

A minute ago she was ready to give up, but now Josh was here. She had to be strong for him, if not herself. Now that they were together, they had a better chance of making it out of this alive, even though those chances still seemed pretty slim. Beth still had to tell Josh that their sister was not only alive, but a member of the group of freaks who had just killed Ashley. She wasn't quite sure how to explain that, for she was barely able to grasp it herself. Before any of that though, she had something for her brother.

"Josh, I brought this, in case I found you." Beth said, handing him the rifle that had been slung over her back along with the ammo for it from her pack.

"Oh, uh, thanks," Josh said uneasily, taking the rifle with shaking hands. He looked over to the dead hunter in the snow. Beth knew what he was thinking immediately.

"It's not the same as shooting an animal, I know...but this doesn't make you a murderer Josh. They're trying to kill us! They fucking killed Ashley! They're not even people at this point. They're monsters Josh."

Josh nodded, not saying anything as he loaded the scoped rifle bullet by bullet. Beth turned around, walking over to pick up her shotgun she had dropped in the snow earlier, her eyes soon falling on the corpse of Ashley. Beth just stood there, shotgun hanging loosely in her hands, staring helplessly at her dead friend, an arrow sticking out of her chest as if she were a deer hunted for sport. Beth wasn't sure if she'd ever be able to go hunting again after seeing this inhumanity, if she could survive this at all that is. Beth remembered hating Ashley at first because of her part in the prank, but now all she felt was guilty. In her weakest moments, she wished Ashley dead, and now she was. She couldn't help but feel like she was responsible for this. Josh noticed her standing silently, rising up in an attempt to comfort his sister.

"I'm sorry Beth, I know this is totally fucked, but," he said, trying to get her to look away from the haunting sight, "but we can't do anything for her now. She's gone Beth."

Beth couldn't stand the idea of leaving Ashley her for those psychos to do God knows what to her body, but they were hardly in a position to do anything about it. Hauling her body around would just slow them down and probably get them killed too. They didn't have the time to bury her either, not to mention all the snow on the ground. Beth felt pathetic, like a helpless little girl. She couldn't save her friend, and she couldn't save her body.

"I'm sorry Ash," Beth said, trying her best not to cry again. Apologizing was all she could do, but it wasn't enough. It never was.

"It's not your fault Beth, you didn't kill her," Josh said.

Beth turned away, saying no more as she reloaded her shotgun. Then she took a deep breath, preparing herself for what she was about to say.

"Hannah's behind this Josh," she said bluntly, just to get it out there.

"What?" Josh gaped at his sister, positive he had heard her wrong.

"Hannah's alive Josh. She's part of all this. She's with these freaks," Beth confessed, knowing it would be hard for him to accept.

"Beth, are you sure that you're not just... you know... seeing things?"

"I really wish I were Josh. I wish I were hallucinating all this, I thought I was at first too, but..." she turned to her brother, meeting his eyes. "I talked to her Josh, she...she wasn't even Hannah anymore!" Beth couldn't help it, finding herself sobbing again as she struggled to tell Josh the disturbing news. She wasn't even sure if her own brother believed her. She honestly hoped she was crazy. She'd rather be insane then know her sister had been transformed into a cannibal psychopath.

Josh wasn't sure what to say or do with this information, feeling just as helpless as his sister as he watched her cry. He didn't know if it was true, but it didn't matter right now. He couldn't let Beth suffer like this, she had already been through more than enough tragedy for one lifetime.

"Okay Beth, alright," he said, embracing his sister. "If she really is out here, then we gotta try to help her."

"...Alright," Beth replied, not totally convinced her brother believed her, and even less that Hannah could be helped. She desperately wanted to believe there was some trace of Hannah left in there, but she seemed pretty far gone when Beth talked to her.

"Come on, let's go. If we stay here we're screwed," Josh said, leading his sister away from the grisly scene.

Beth tried her best not to look back as they left Ashley behind.

Even though they were now together, Beth and Josh still weren't sure what to do. They knew where they were but not where they were going. The only thing they could hope for was to try to find their friends before the Hunters did. Unfortunately, Josh didn't seem to know where any of them were any more than Josh did, which was probably why he was out by himself in the first place. They took their time making their way through the snow, keeping their eyes and ears open. They tried their best to be quiet, but trudging their way through the snow made that more than a little difficult.

"So, uh, what did she look like?" Josh whispered.

"What?"

"Hannah, what did she look like?"

"I told you, she's one of them. She's wearing the same ugly crap they are. Animal skins and cloth. It was Hannah, but she didn't look like Hannah," Beth described her as best she could.

"Well, how did she look?"

Beth didn't answer, she suddenly stopped walking, "Shhh, do you hear that?" Beth asked, looking around.

It was the sound of footsteps. Someone was coming their way, and fast. They turned to where they thought the footsteps were coming from, but it was so dark they couldn't see it until it was right on top of them. A familiar figure burst from the trees and ran right past them.

"Emily?!" Beth said as she passed.

"RUN!" yelled Emily, not even slowing down when she recognized them.

An arrow suddenly stuck itself in a tree less than a foot from Beth's face.

"Shit!" Josh yelled as he fired into the darkness.

"Don't waste your ammo just run!" Beth said as she grabbed his shoulder and pulled, learning her lesson from last time.

The pair ran in the direction their friend took off towards, struggling to keep up with the sprinting Emily, who was a lot faster than Beth would have given her credit for. She'd tell her to slow down, but given the circumstances it'd be better if she didn't. Problem was, Emily didn't know where she was running to, but the siblings Beth and Josh didn't have much of a choice but to follow her. Emily was the first one they had stumbled upon, and they weren't about to let her slip away. Still, that didn't mean Beth couldn't try to guide Emily to a path that wouldn't get them all killed. Beth could barely see the figure of Emily running fast in front of them, and in the dark she had no idea where they were going. Beth and Josh would just have to hope Emily didn't lead them off a cliff. They saw Emily stumble and scream as she disappeared from sight, the two siblings managing to stop before they fell as well. Emily had fallen down a cave. They could barely make out her tumbling down the edge and out of sight once more.

"Jesus," Josh said, looking down the dark cave.

"Come on, we can't leave her," Beth said, determined not to lose another friend so quickly.

"We don't know what's in that cave."

"Could it really be worse than what's out here?!" Beth didn't give him time to respond, jumping into the cave after Emily, sliding on her back.

"Oh, this is dumb, this is dumb, this is dumb," Josh said to himself, sliding in after her sister. He only hoped that this would go better than his family's last cave adventure.


	12. The Princess and the Hunters

**Unfortunately, it appears Fanfiction is being weird and followers are not receiving updates. I'm not sure if it'll be fixed by the time I post this, but I hope you guys see this, because I honestly think this is the best chapter yet. I think the characterization here is some of my best, and an awesome chapter deserves an awesome title.**

The Princess and the Hunters

Luckily, this cave wasn't as steep as the one the Washington sisters had fallen into last year, and after some bumps along the way, Josh and Beth slid safely to the bottom. Emily was just getting to her feet from her own, more unprepared plummet into the depths. She looked a little banged up, some scrapes and bruises, but none too worse for wear.

"Emily! Thank God you're alright!" Beth smiled as she threw her arms around her stunned friend, squeezing her and pinning her arms to her sides.

"Uhhh, okay..." stumbled Emily, thrown off by Beth's warm reception of her, considering how their last encounter ended. "What happened to 'I fucking hate you'?"

"Shut up," Beth said simply, not letting go.

Emily looked to Josh in an uncomfortable, yet relieved confusion.

"She's just glad to see you're okay," Josh said, brushing himself off. "Everything's really fucked up right now, so we didn't know what to expect."

Emily's mind immediately went to more urgent matters. "You guys haven't seen Ashley have you? We were together before those freaks showed up and we got separated."

Beth's smile dropped in an instant, releasing Emily from her grasp. Beth could only hang her head, once again being reminded of her failures. She couldn't even bring herself to say the words.

"What's going on? What happened?" Emily asked, noticing Beth's attitude change,

"Emily..." Josh started, the words proving too difficult for him as well. "Ashley's gone Emily."

Emily just stared at Josh, a horrified look on her face. "W-what do you mean... 'gone'?"

"Come on Em, don't make me say it," Josh said solemnly, shaking his head.

Emily suddenly felt as if she couldn't stand, stumbling forward into Beth, who held onto her with all her strength. Beth fell with Emily to her knees, the latter quickly breaking out into a bawling, weeping cry. Beth held her friend in a shocked state, not expecting this type of reaction from Emily. Beth couldn't think of anything to say. No words of comfort came to mind, all she could do was hold Emily tight as she could.

Josh stood uncomfortably as Emily cried in Beth's arms for several moments. "Beth, I'm so sorry!" Emily said suddenly.

"What?" asked Beth, confused. She didn't know what to expect Emily to say, but it certainly wasn't that.

"I'm sorry! Hannah, the prank, it was all my idea! It's all my fault! I'm so sorry Beth!"

"Oh forget about that Em!" Beth said, shaking her head. "I don't really hate you, I was just mad."

"No! No!" Emily screamed, breaking from Beth's grasp. "We're gonna die! Ashley's dead! And it's all because of me!"

"What are you talking about Em?" Josh said, coming forward.

"I saw Hannah," Emily explained, trying her best to get a hold of herself. "She's here, she's alive! She's the one who was chasing me!"

Beth shot a look to Josh, "Do you believe me now?"

Josh didn't know what to say. "You're sure it was my sister?"

Emily nodded, "She was taunting me, saying that some of us made the mistake, but we'd all have to pay the price for it! She was trying to kill me guys! Hannah was trying to fucking kill me! They're gonna kill all of us, and it's all my fault!" Emily confessed, breaking down under the immense load of fear and guilt.

Emily was hysteric, and Beth had to say something to her. What she ended up saying was what Beth should have been telling herself. "Emily listen to me," she said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Look at me." Emily lifted her head to the suddenly serious Beth. "This is _not_ your fault. It's not. You didn't make Hannah this way, and you didn't kill Ashley! It was just a stupid prank Em! It was just a prank!" she repeated the words to Emily, words she herself had said try to justify her actions before. Beth could see the fear in her eyes, the pain of knowing her friend was dead, and being made to think it was her fault. Whatever sins Emily committed she had paid for and then some. "Hannah is wrong. You _don't_ deserve this. You're my friend...and I forgive you," Beth said, finally being able to say it, and mean it.

Beth's words stunned Emily. She had confessed everything, expecting the same hatred and threats she received at the cabin, but instead Beth had shown mercy. Emily didn't have a response at first, she just sniveled, looking away, wiping at her eye with her torn sleeve. "I-...well," she said, embarrassed she had let herself been seen like this. It certainly wasn't in her usual persona. "Thanks Beth," was all she could think to say.

"Come on, we can get through this," Beth said, lifting her back up to her feet. "We don't have to die here."

"Okay, yeah, you're right," Emily agreed, pulling herself together. "Beth?"

"Yeah Em?"

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this, or you're dead, you got me?"

Beth chuckled, "Yeah, I got it Em."

"Alright guys," said Josh, "I'm glad you guys made up, really, I think it's awesome, but we gotta find a way outta here. Mom and Dad always told us never to go in these caves, so I don't know what's down here."

"Probably more of those freaks who killed Ashley!" said Emily, "Who knows how many of them there are!"

Josh saw Beth walking forward into the darkness, seemingly blindly. "Hey! Beth, what're you doing?"

"I've been here before," Beth said, her tone changing, feeling the wall. "I don't know how, but...I think I know the way," she announced turning back to Emily and Josh. "I know how to get through."

"What? How?" asked Emily, not understanding.

"It's just pieces, but I'm starting to remember things. I think I was down here when I was missing for that month. I remember when me and Hannah first fell into the caves last year, we met this psycho who tried to kill me, I think he's from the same group that are after us now."

"Wait a minute, hold up," Emily said, holding up one hand, "Are you saying you knew about these psychotic freaks? And you didn't fucking say anything?!"

"I didn't remember Em! I'm just putting it back together now! After I saw Hannah!"

"Jesus, fuck!" Emily cursed, "That must have been when they grabbed Hannah, right?"

Beth nodded, turning back to the darkness. "I wandered these caves for days, I think, weeks even. I, I think I can remember it as I go."

Josh walked up to Beth from behind, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You know, there's gotta be a reason why you shut all those memories away sis, you sure you wanna remember all that?"

"She doesn't have a choice, Josh! We could die down here!" Emily added.

"Emily." Josh shot her a dirty look, not wanting to distress his sister any more already, but Beth turned around on him.

"No, she's right, I don't have a choice here. My memories are the only chance of us getting out of here. I have to try Josh."

Josh sighed, not liking the idea of any of this. "Alright," he said, lifting his arm to the darkness ahead, "Lead the way sis, we're right behind you."

Beth turned around, "Okay...okay..." Beth said to herself, trying to keep herself calm as she began her descent into the dark. Then she remembered something she packed that could definitely come in handy down here. She didn't want to use it at first in the forest because she was afraid it would give away her position to the hunters, but down here there wasn't much choice. She dug into her bag, grabbing the high power flashlight from inside. She turned, tossing it to Emily.

"Catch Em."

Emily caught it awkwardly with both hands, fumbling with the device, nearly dropping it.

"Hey, how about a little more warning next time?" Emily commented, irritated.

"You're the official flashlight shiner," said Beth, turning to go forward.

"Why me?" Emily asked nervously, struggling to figure out how to turn the thing on while walking at the same time, obviously inexperienced with just about all utility tools. "I've never had to use something like this before."

"It's a flashlight Em, it's not rocket science," said Josh, honestly amused by the difficulty she was having. "You're a big girl, I'm sure you'll figure it out."

Emily glared at Josh, flipping the on switch and shining it in his face.

"Hey watch that light! That's powerful!" Josh said, shielding his eyes.

"Jerk," Emily said, turning back to Beth and moving the light ahead. "Why do I have to shine the stupid light?" she complained to Beth, worried she might not see something and then it'll be her fault when they got in trouble.

Beth rolled her eyes. Even at her best, Emily was still a pain. "You ever shoot a gun before, miss Emily?" Beth asked mockingly, not turning around, being careful to watch her step.

"Of course not!" Emily said, watching her head on the low ceiling. "You might be a girl who likes to shoot guns Beth, but you're definitely in the minority on that one. It's mostly a guy thing, in case you haven't noticed. You'd be better off with that meathead asshole Mike," she reminded Beth, thinking of her ex-boyfriend's interest in firearms and the like. While they were dating, Emily had discovered he was a pretty stereotypical guy, who liked sports, action movies and guns, although she wasn't sure if he actually ever fired a gun before. Josh and Beth on the other hand, definitely had experience with firearms. "What does that have to do with me being the 'flashlight shiner'?"

"Well it's shine or shoot sister, and no offense princess, but I think we'd be better at the shooting," joked Beth.

Emily huffed, "Fine, whatever."

Josh chuckled, "Heh, princess..."

Emily scowled, shining the light back in Josh's eyes again.

"Hey, quit that, seriously! That shit's blinding!"

"Stop making fun of me!"

"You make it too easy!"

"Emily come on," Beth said seriously now, "I need that light."

"Okay, okay," Emily said, shining the light ahead.

They walked for a few minutes in silence, coming to several forks in the road that Beth seemed to navigate rather confidently, if taking a second or two to remember.

"How'd you find your way around here before, without a flashlight?" Emily asked, knowing she must have done so, for she definitely didn't have one when she fell.

"I don't know, I can't remember," Beth said, "Maybe my eyes just, you know, got used to the dark."

"I don't think your eyes can get so used to the dark you could see in almost total blackness," Emily said back.

"What does it matter?" asked Josh.

"I'm just curious, aren't you curious?"

"I think there's more important shit to worry about right now."

As he said that, the trio came to something they didn't expect to see down here. A clearly manmade wooden structure built around the cave wall. It looked pretty old, but still pretty sturdy.

"What the heck is that?" asked Emily, shining the light all over it.

"Those are built to prevent cave-ins," answered Josh.

"Okay...but who built it?"

"How the hell should I know?"

"It's your mountain!"

"Like I said, I've never been down here. What do you think Beth?"

Josh didn't get an answer, he looked to his sister, to see her standing silently in the open passageway, looking forward.

"Beth?"

"Shhh, look," she said, pointing forward. At the end of this passage, there was a faint light around the corner. "Shut off the light," Beth said urgently.

"What?"

"Shut off the damn light!"

"Okay, okay," Emily panicked, fumbling with the flashlight until she found the off switch.

The whole area around the group went dark, the only thing visible now was the light at the end of the tunnel. Beth stayed in the same place, waiting for something.

"What are we doing?" Emily whispered, confused.

"Just shut up and wait," Beth quieted Emily. Beth watched the light, waiting for it to move, but it never did. "Okay, let's go, quietly. Josh, be ready," Beth warned as she started to move forward.

"Yeah," Josh replied nervously, pulling the bolt back on his rifle, making sure it was ready to fire.

"Oh god oh god oh god," mumbled Emily, scared stiff, but trying her best to keep up with the two without making too much noise.

After who knows how much creeping and what seemed like an eternity, the three reached the end of the tunnel, the source of the light was just beyond this corner. Beth whipped around the side, shotgun held high to shoot, but no one was there. The source of the light was a torch hanging on the wall, and there were many of them littered throughout the chamber. In front of them were tracks for a cart, and a rusty old cart sat on said tracks. There were stairs and tunnels all around them. The place had been redecorated with strange banners. An unnerving, red colored design Beth couldn't make out was painted the white cloth, although Beth got the feeling that it wasn't actually paint.

"I think we found where the assholes live," Beth said. Luckily, no one seemed to be here at the moment, they were probably all out hunting their friends.

"It's a mine," Josh said, stating the obvious.

"No shit," Emily replied, although just as shocked as he was. "Why is there a mine here?"

"I don't know, but we sure didn't put it here," Josh said back. "This complex must be decades old, way before my dad bought the place."

"Great, yeah, perfect," Emily said, walking out into the center of the room, fed up with all of this. "Crazy cannibals, creepy old mine, what's next? It's like we literally wandered into a horror movie."

"Emily, quiet! Your voice is echoing, who knows who can hear us."

"Emily?!" Came a voice from up ahead, apparently hearing her voice. Emily's turned, her eyes widened. She recognized that voice.

"Matt?! Oh my god, Matt?!" She yelled, suddenly running ahead.

"Emily wait!" Beth yelled after her.

Emily did no such thing, running as fast as she could to where she thought her boyfriend's voice came from. Up some stairs, in a passage to the left. All Beth and Josh could do is follow their friend once more.

Emily turned the corner to come to a large, dimly lit room, and it was the most horrifying sight she had ever seen. Skinned bodies hung from the ceiling, and even more bodies and parts of bodies had been trapped in cages all over the room. The cold weather was more than enough to keep the corpses preserved. Emily had found their meat locker, so to speak.

"Jesus...fuck!" Emily shrieked, stepping back out of the room.

"Emily!" came the voice again.

Emily looked forward, seeing her boyfriend trapped in a cage. He looked to be the only living thing in the whole room.

"Matt!" Emily ran over as quick as she could, wrapping her hands around the bars of the cage. "Matt, oh my god are you ok?"

Beth and Josh were just entering the room, gawking and gaping at the horrific sight.

"Y-yeah, I'm okay, I think, but listen, Emily —."

"Don't worry, we're gonna get you out of here, okay? You're gonna be fine!" She tried to open the cage, but it was locked. "Shit, I'll try and find they key!"

"Emily wait!"

Emily turned around to come face to face with another hanging corpse, but this one was wearing a familiar face. He had been butchered in ways Emily couldn't even imagine, but the face was recognizable enough. She stood petrified, unable to look away. She wished she could, but this image would be burned into her mind forever anyway.

Beth and Josh came to Emily and Matt. They were annoyed Emily had run ahead like she did, but the sight of Matt alive changed their expression.

Josh smiled, "Whew, we were scared there for a second man, we didn't think we'd find you in one piece."

Matt didn't respond, he was looking worriedly at Emily, who still could not move or speak. Then Beth saw it.

"Josh," his sister said, tugging on his shoulder.

"What? What's going on?" asked Josh, turning to see what everyone else was looking at. At first he thought it was just another hanging corpse, but then he realized who he was looking at. "Oh no...no, no."

"Mike..." Emily whimpered, barely getting out the name. She collapsed to her knees, crying uncontrollably. Beth went to her side, consoling her friend while trying her best not to cry herself.

"Josh! Get me out of here! I have to be with Emily!" Matt demanded.

"Yeah, yeah alright," Josh agreed, tearing himself away from the sight. "Just give me a second to—"

"AHHHHHH!" A yelling figure suddenly slammed into Josh, knocking him face first into the metal bars.

"Josh!" Beth shrieked, rising to her feet and lifting her shotgun at the cloaked enemy.

The Hunter dashed forward and kicked Beth's gun off focus, causing Beth to miss her shot. The Hunter struck Beth hard in the face, sending her and her shotgun sprawling to the cave floor. Beth laid still, knocked clean out.

"Shit! Shit!" Matt screamed, powerless to help.

The Hunter turned to see Josh lifting himself up to his feet. He drew a knife, and advanced on Josh, pushing him against the cage once more and bringing the knife to his neck. The Hunter snickered sadistically as he pressed the knife against Josh's throat, a trail of blood starting to leak down his neck. Matt saw the shotgun lying next to Beth's feet. He reached out to try to grab it, straining himself, but it was just out of reach. He pushed himself even harder, managing to get his fingers on the grip. Suddenly a pair of hands took the shotgun away. Matt's eyes widened.

"You know, it's always nice when the prey comes to us," the Hunter taunted, enjoying Josh's pointless struggle before he slits his throat. "Makes my job so much easier!" He laughed, his eyes flaring with excitement and sick pleasure as he prepared to make the kill.

The look got frozen on his face when a volley of buckshot erupted from the shotgun, tearing off half the Hunter's head. Josh stared, disbelieving at the Hunter's disfigured skull. His right eye had been blown clean out, his jaw literally hanging off his face. The Hunter slumped lifelessly to the ground. Josh's hands went to his throat, breathing hard and falling to his knees. Thankfully, the Hunter hadn't managed to cut very deeply into his neck before he was blown away. Overcome with relief, he looked up to see the shooter, expecting to see his sister, but she was still on the ground, just now coming back around.

A tear ridden, shaking Emily stood holding the smoking shotgun.

"Holy shit Em," Josh said bewildered, climbing to his feet.

A hand reached out and grabbed Emily's arm, she spun around to see Matt, still in the cage. "Emily, you did it. It's over. You got him."

Emily didn't respond, she just stood in place, obviously disturbed by both what she had seen and what had just done, something she never believed she could do.

"I thought you were all bark Emily, but it looks like you've got some bite too," Josh said, still managing to be lighthearted, even in this situation. His smile dropped when he heard his sister groaning on the ground, "Shit! Beth!" He ran to his sister's side.

"Em," Matt said, "You think you can get me out of here?"

Emily nodded, "Y-yeah," she said, setting the shotgun on the ground. She went over to the dead hunter, figuring since he was looking after the captives, he was the "jailer," so to speak. Sure enough, she found a key ring on his person. Now she just had to figure out which key opened Matt's cell.

Josh cradled Beth's head, who was slowly but surely rejoining the living. Her face lit up when she saw Josh's face. "Josh, you're okay...or we're both dead."

Josh chuckled, "Neither of us are dead Beth."

Beth rose up, rubbing her head. "What the hell happened?"

"Emily saved us," Josh said simply.

Beth looked at him like he had told her she was in Wonderland. "No, seriously, what happened?"

"Screw you too!" Emily blew her off, not bothering to look at her as she tried all the different keys on the lock. Finally, she found the right one, the key turning and the door swinging open. Emily threw her arms around Matt.

"That was crazy Em," Matt said, still looking at the half headless hunter. "You fucking annihilated that guy." Matt had seen a side of Emily he never knew existed. The idea of his girlfriend doing that was terrifying, but if he was being honest, it was pretty attractive as well.

"Can we not talk about this?!" Emily cried into his shoulder, conflicted emotions of relief and grief rushing through her body. "I'm just so glad you're okay."

Josh helped his sister to her feet. "She really killed that guy?" Beth asked Josh, still shocked.

"Yeah, she really did."

Beth started walking, still wavering a bit, to pick up her shotgun from the ground. She popped open the chamber, putting new shells in each barrel. Thankfully, there was plenty of ammo at the lodge, so she wasn't running low anytime soon.

"Maybe we should let you carry a gun after all Em," Beth said.

Emily didn't reply, she was far too overwrought to think up a response.

"You sure he's dead?" Matt asked, holding on tight to Emily.

"Deader than Elvis," Josh replied, coming to Beth's side. "Well, that's two down."

"Two down is right," Beth said solemnly, looking back at what was left of Mike, and then immediately wishing she hadn't.

The Hunters were chewing through her friends just as quickly as they were chewing through the Hunters, but she was running out of friends, and who knows how many Hunters were out there. They still hadn't run into the same one who had threatened her last year, but Beth was sure she'd see him again. Ashley was dead, and now so was Mike. Beth wasn't looking forward to breaking the news to either Chris or Jess, provided they were still alive. She hadn't seen either of them since the Hunt started. At the same time, she couldn't help but feel joy at the sight of Matt and Emily being reunited. A moment of respite for both of them, just like when Josh had found her. Beth let them savor it. She walked over to the hanging corpse of Mike. She reached into her bag hanging from her shoulder, grabbing a knife.

"Beth? What are you doing?" asked Josh, honestly hesitant to get close to the butchered corpse of his friend.

"Just because he's dead doesn't mean I have to leave him hanging here like a piece of meat," Beth stated strongly, cutting the rope that was holding Mike up.

The corpse came loose and crashed to the ground. Beth inhaled and exhaled, bending down to slide Mike's eyes closed.

"Beth, it's okay to cry."

"I don't feel like crying. Not anymore."

"Sis, are you doing okay?" Josh asked, concerned for his sister's mental well-being. "You seem...well... different. Detached."

Beth turned to her brother, giving him a steely eyed look. "I've seen my sister lose her mind, and two of my friends die. I killed someone tonight, and now Emily has too! What do you want from me Josh?"

Beth's tone was making Josh uncomfortable. He had never seen her like this. She was always strong, but she was sensitive too, and compassionate. Now he was feeling something else. Something he never wanted his baby sister to be.

"I just don't want you to change, Beth. I love you sis, I don't want to lose you. Not again."

"You're not gonna lose me Josh," Beth said, looking over to see Emily, still in Matt's embrace. Emily was a killer now too, and Beth knew there was more killing to be done before the night was over. "But none of us are getting out of this the same."


	13. What Are Friends For?

**This chapter's got some tension/horror, but it's mostly hurt and comfort between friends.**

What Are Friends For?

When Josh got the news one of his sisters had been found alive, he dropped everything from his college and rushed to the hospital immediately. He hadn't even bothered to notify his professors, he'd do that when he made sure Beth was okay. While he never gave up hope, deep down he knew the chances of either of them surviving for a month were slim to none, but that didn't matter now, because Beth had survived. A literal miracle had occurred, and Josh wasn't about to take it for granted. Nothing else mattered but seeing his sister. His parents were out of the country on business, for his father was working on a new project. As soon as they were informed their daughter was alive if not exactly well, they boarded the soonest flight back to the states. Still, it'd be a while before they arrived. Josh himself wasn't exactly in the area when he got the call, so it took him a bit to get to the hospital. When he finally arrived, he saw one of his best friends had already beat him there, someone who cared about Beth's well-being almost as much as he did. Outside the hospital entrance stood Sam, who was looking pretty impatient, as if waiting for someone else to show up. When she saw Josh, her eyes lit up and she ran over to him.

"Josh, good, you're here," she said frantically.

"What's going on? Is my sister okay?!" Josh asked, not bothering to question how Sam had heard. He was happy someone cared enough about Beth to rush over even quicker than him, but there were more important matters to worry about.

"I don't know, they won't let me in," Sam said, obviously annoyed.

"What? Why?"

"She's in the emergency wing, its family members only. They won't let me see her!"

Josh ran past her without another word through the hospital doors. Sam turned to follow. Josh almost crashed right into the check in desk that was right in front of the door. The nurse jumped at his sudden entrance.

"I need to see Beth Washington, right now. I'm her brother!"

"Can I see some ID?" asked the nurse, clearly the kind to give someone a hard time.

"Are you fucking serious?! My sister's in there!"

"Sir, its hospital rules, I can't just let anyone inside."

Josh didn't have time to argue, scrambling with his wallet and forking over his driver's license. "There, that good enough for you?"

The nurse took a half glance at it, "She's through those doors," she said pointing. "A doctor will be able to help you from there."

Josh broke away from the desk, wasting no time.

"I'm not going anywhere Josh! I'll be right here!" Sam called after him. She turned back to the nurse, giving her a dirty look. "Cause apparently friends aren't worth crap around here."

"Miss, I'm just doing my job."

"Yeah, well, your job is being an asshole."

* * *

Beth laid in the hospital bed, unconscious, and hooked up to a lot of equipment, including a breathing mask. On one hand, Josh was overjoyed to see his sister again, and alive at that. Still, Josh was a nervous wreck. He wasn't sure what half of all this stuff was for, but none of it looked good.

"Is she gonna be ok? Please tell me she's gonna be ok," he asked the doctor.

"She's stable. She's not in critical condition or anything, but she was dehydrated and starved, lots of injuries, mostly minor a few broken bones, but overall she should be fine in time, but she's been missing for over a month, so we'd like to keep her here for at least a bit to make sure. The forest rangers found her conscious, but she fainted due to exhaustion. She's been unconscious for several hours."

Josh looked to Beth, a relieved, yet worried look in his eyes. The strong girl he knew was now in a helpless, fragile condition. It wasn't a state he was used to seeing her in, and certainly not one he liked. The worst part was, Hannah was still out there.

"You should know how lucky she is, but I did want to talk to you about some of these injuries. They're not particularly serious, but...they're rather concerning."

"Why?"

"She's got multiple stab wounds, particularly one in her left shoulder. It happened a while ago and hasn't been treated, so it's infected. The flesh of her right arm has also been torn open by teeth. At first we thought it was a wild animal, but the bite marks on her skin were undoubtedly human."

"W-what does that mean?" Josh asked, obviously disturbed.

The doctor struggled a bit with how to word this, "I can only imagine it means someone was, well, trying to eat her arm. It's not uncommon for stranded, desperate individuals to resort to cannibalism, but, as far as we're aware, she was only with one person."

"A-are you trying to tell me that Hannah tried to eat her twin sister?"

"I don't want to alarm you."

"No, no way," Josh said, shaking his head. "She would never do that to Beth. No way."

"We could discuss this later, I imagine it'd be easier when Beth wakes up. Although, the forest rangers did mention amnesia, so I don't know how much she remembers, if anything. I think we should give her time to rest."

"I'm not leaving," Josh said, plopping himself down in a chair next to her bed. "I'm waiting right here until she wakes up."

"We have no idea when that will be, sir."

"I got all day."

* * *

Hours passed without Beth even making a stir, but Josh never left her side for a moment. Then, at around six pm, Beth Anna Washington returned to the realm of the living. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, the world in a drug induced daze. She felt like she had been sleeping for days, and for all she knew she had. Everything in her mind was nothing but a blur. She was lucky to remember who she was, let alone what happened. A groggy groan got Josh's attention, who looked up to see his sister turn her head, trying to figure out where she was.

"Beth? Beth?" Josh rushed to her side, desperate to speak to his sister.

She met his gaze, the figure in front of her not totally clear, but she knew that voice anywhere. "Josh?" she asked weakly, an immense wave of comfort rushing over her "What's going on, where's Hannah?" she asked, not remembering a thing.

"It's okay Beth, you're in the hospital, they found you, everything's gonna be fine."

"Hospital? Did something happen to me?" Beth asked obliviously, holding her hand to her head, immediately alarmed when she saw the vast amount of bandages encasing her limb. "What the hell happened to my arm? Why does my shoulder hurt so much?"

"You don't really remember anything do you?" Josh realized. His hope to get some answers from his sister had been dashed.

Beth shook her head, "Is everyone still at the cabin?"

"Uh...no. Beth," he answered, chuckling a bit, "that was a month ago."

Beth's eyes widened, "A...a month?!"

"Happy New Year," Josh joked awkwardly, hoping to lighten the mood.

Beth wasn't in the mood for jokes. "Wait, have I been in a coma for a month?!"

"No, Beth, you've been missing. You ran after Hannah into that snowstorm after the prank the guys pulled, and Sam said you guys fell off a cliff. You've been missing since then."

"A cliff?! Wait, wait, where's Hannah, Josh?"

"I'm sorry sis, but Han's still missing. They only found you. And...honestly, that was a miracle."

"What are you saying?" Beth asked, but she could guess where this was going, she just didn't want to believe it.

Josh struggled, not great in serious situations like this. "Hannah's...Hannah's probably gone, Beth."

Beth just stared at her brother, understandably horrified. Her sister, dead? All that comfort was suddenly gone. "She's dead?! Hannah's dead?! No!" Beth tried to sit up, immediately regretting it when she felt the sharp pain. She cried and slumped back in the bed, grasping at her shoulder. Josh went to help, but a nurse rushed in when he heard the scream, going over to Beth's side to help.

"She's awake," said Josh.

"I can see that," the nurse replied sarcastically, "Ma'am, none of your injuries are life threatening, but you can't just lift yourself like that. You're malnourished, and you're injured. You have to take it easy."

Beth nodded weakly, sinking back down into her bed, a pained expression on her face. "I don't understand," she asked helplessly, wanting to cry. "How is Hannah dead? What happened? What happened to us?!"

"We don't know Beth. I'm sorry."

"No, No!" Beth yelled, enraged at herself for not being able to remember. "Hannah can't be dead! She can't!"

Josh stared powerlessly at his crying sister, wanting to help, but not knowing how. She had quickly turned hysterical. Every time she tried to move another part of her body a sharp pain shot through her.

"You need to leave," The nurse said, tending to Beth.

"What? I can't leave her!"

"I know you love her, but you're causing her a lot of stress right now. She needs to calm down, and she needs to rest."

Josh hated it, but the nurse was right. Josh was just upsetting his sister anymore, and he hated himself for it. "Okay...I'll be right here Beth, Sam is here too, we're gonna help you get through this."

Beth hardly heard him as he left the room, consumed in her confused grief. "Hannah..."

Josh was escorted back to the waiting room, where Sam had been waiting all this time as well. Josh's best friend, Chris, had shown up too. He was worried about Beth of course, but he was largely there for Josh. Josh and Sam had been getting close since his sisters vanished, but Josh had known Chris since grade school.

"Oh, hey man," Josh said, a little shocked to see him here.

"Yeah, I just figured that—."

"How is she?" Sam butted in. She had been waiting here for hours with no contact, she wanted answers.

"She's awake, but she's not doing too great."

"Is she gonna die?!" Sam asked, horrified.

"No, she's hysterical. She couldn't remember anything, so I told her what happened, and it sent her into this crying frenzy. I think I just made this shit a lot worse," Josh said sitting down, frustrated with himself.

"Oh god, poor Beth," Sam said, looking solemnly at the emergency doors. "I can't imagine what she's going through."

"Still, this is really good news," Chris reminded them. "Beth is alive, guys. She's okay, well, kind of okay. That means Hannah could be alive too. I mean, it still sucks, but, there's hope, ya know?"

"It's bittersweet, you mean," Sam helped him out.

"Yeah, that."

Then someone came out of the women's bathroom and headed their way. Josh caught her face out of the corner of his eye.

Ashley.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Josh stood up, still mad about the prank that had caused so much damage.

"She was with me when I got the news, we came together," Chris answered, "She's really sorry man, she never—."

"Listen man, I think it's great you're spending time with Ashley, I know you dig her, but I don't think I want her here man, I can't look at her right now," Josh said.

Ashley now came within earshot.

"Josh, come on, it's not her fault, it wasn't even her idea."

"I'm sorry man, this is all just too much. One of my sister's is an emotional wreck, and the other one's probably dead, and its cause of this fucking prank. I'm sorry dude, I know you like her, I know she's like your best friend, and she's my friend too, but I don't want her here. I'm sorry."

"I told you you shouldn't have brought her here Chris," Sam said, crossing her arms.

"You too Sam? Seriously?"

"Josh," came Ashley's voice now, standing awkwardly, having heard all that ill talk of her.

They all became silent, looking to Ashley now.

"I'm so sorry Josh."

Josh sighed, "It's not me you should be apologizing to Ash...but, I don't hate you, I just can't look at you right now, as fucked up as that sounds."

"No, I totally get it, I'll go, but, uh," Ashley struggled, taking a note out from her pocket. "Do you think you could give this to Beth? I wrote it on the way here. Ever since that day I've felt like total shit guys, and I know I can't see her, and I know she doesn't wanna see me, but please, I want her to know how sorry I am. Please give this to her." Ashley pleaded, holding out the note to Josh. "Can you do that, please?"

Josh took the note, "Yeah, I can do that. Thanks Ash, I know you're sorry. The others apologized to me too, but, I definitely think you're sincere, but still, I'd like if you left."

"I'd like it too," Sam said under her breath.

Ashley hung her head.

"Sam, come on, stop it already," Chris said, honestly shocked at Sam's hostility. He had never known her to be so confrontational, but ever since Hannah and Beth disappeared, she was pretty hostile to everyone who had something to do with the prank, including Ashley.

"Hannah was her best friend Chris, give her a break," said Josh.

"You're the ones who need to give her a break," Chris defended Ashley.

"I'm so sorry," Ashley said, sniffling.

Chris went over to Ashley, "If she goes, I go."

"Then I guess you better go," Josh said simply.

Chris stared at Josh, disbelieving. "Seriously dude? I thought we were friends."

"We are man, but I just can't deal with this crap right now. I'm sorry, but Beth isn't the only one who's a mental trainwreck," Josh replied honestly. "You should leave and be with Ashley, I think she needs your help more than I do."

"Fine, whatever," Chris said, taking Ashley's hand, "Come on Ash."

The two left the hospital together, leaving Sam and Josh alone in the waiting room. Well, them and a room of strangers who had just witnessed a good amount of drama.

"You think we were too hard just now?" asked Josh, feeling guilty.

"I don't know," Sam said sighing, turning to sit down. "I feel like such a jerk, but I'm so mad at them," she said honestly. "I just can't let it go."

"Me neither," Josh said, sitting down next to her.

"Hopefully Beth will get better, and maybe we could put all this behind us. You think your sister will be able to forgive them?"

"I don't know," Josh said honestly, looking at the emergency doors where his sister was being treated. "She was really upset. It's gonna be a long time before any of this gets better."

Sam was silent for a moment, thinking about all the pain and worry that went into the last month. When Beth was found, it was a brief respite, but it wasn't over. Hannah was still gone, and Beth was far from okay. She had lost her twin, her second half, someone who she had been with since birth. That kind of pain never really goes away.

"It will get better, won't it?" Sam asked, not so sure of herself.

"Yeah Sammy, course it will," Josh said, putting her arm around her. He immediately realized it might have come off as weird, but Sam didn't seem to mind. "We'll all get through this together."

Sam was tired. Emotional strain was always the worst kind. She leaned against Josh, resting her head. "I think we're gonna be here all day."

"Yeah...me too."

* * *

 _So please don't ask me how_  
 _I ended up at my wits end and breaking down._  
 _Pages torn from books we never read,_  
 _'Cause we're plugged into this grid._  
 _Don't pull this plug right now,_  
 _Or then we really have to live._

The rest of the day passed by, and the night fell. Inside the emergency room, Beth had calmed down, but she couldn't sleep. She had been lying in this bed for hours wide awake, unable to think of anything but Hannah. They hadn't let Josh back in all day. Beth was in the dark room all by herself, just her and her thoughts. Beth had no idea what happened to Hannah, but she felt like somehow she was to blame for it. She had a damning pain stabbing at her heart, and she didn't even know what it was from.

She turned to reach for her glass of water, and that's when she saw her for the first time. A bloodied figure stood by her bed, looming over her like a hungry vulture. Beth screamed and fell out of bed, ripping herself free of the hospital equipment, the pain not even registering as shocked horror took over. The ghostly figure was in tattered clothes, eyes missing from the sockets, pale and decomposed.

"Hannah?!" Beth panicked, backing away from her undead sister.

Hannah descended on her terrified sister, trembling in the corner. "No! No! Stop! I'm sorry!" she cried, not even knowing what she was apologizing for.

The door suddenly burst open, a nurse entering the room due to the screaming. "What are you doing out of bed?"

Beth ignored the nurse, running past him out of the room, trying to escape from Hannah.

"Hey, wait! No!"

The nurse called for security as Beth dashed down the hall, not knowing where she was going, but around every corner she went, wherever she turned around, was Hannah. She couldn't get away.

By now Beth's frantic cries had woken up half the hospital, including Sam, who had crashed there for the night with Josh. Sam rubbed her hand, getting up from the chair she had fallen asleep in. Josh was a heavy sleeper, and she left him sitting there like a lump.

"What is that?" Sam asked, walking into the open. She faced the emergency doors, where the screams were coming from, and getting louder.

Was she dreaming right now?

Suddenly a figure burst through the doors, collapsing in a heap on the hospital floor, sobbing and very much in pain.

"Beth?!" Sam yelled, recognizing her immediately. She scrambled over to her fallen friend, trying to help. She sat on the floor, taking hold of her. "Beth?" This was the first time Sam had seen her in a month. It wasn't the best first impression.

"Hannah..." was all Beth could get out, visibly exhausted, not even recognizing her friend.

"Hannah, what about Hannah?" asked the concerned Sam, realizing something was very wrong with Beth.

Security wasn't far behind, they had been stupidly chasing Beth, which just made her panic and flee more. They arrived at the doorway, looking over the two girls.

Beth went limp in Sam's arms, passing out from sheer exhaustion.

"Beth? Oh god, Beth," Sam said tearfully, holding her tight. "Whatever this is, we're gonna help you through it. I swear."

Sam held Beth in her arms until security made her let go and step away. Sam watched painfully as they carried the fainted Beth through the doors, out of her reach once more.

 _Your words won't save me now._  
 _I'm at the edge feeling the sweat drip from my brow._  
 _Get a grip on yourself is what they say,_  
 _Every hour every day._  
 _Hands over my ears,_  
 _I've been screaming all these years!_

 _-_ **Lyrics taken from** **Rise Against, Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated**


End file.
